Wild Horses Can't Be Tamed
by FaerieKnight197
Summary: In the wake of a Wish gone wrong, Ranma must find a new path in a new city.  Story is set in my Heroes Unlimited campaign setting with addition of elements from Ranma 1/2
1. Arrival

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

In the state of New York there is a town. Naturally enough of course. This particular town was somewhere between a town and a small city. It's name was Freedom City, and it was located roughly a hundred miles northwest of New York city. At first glance one wouldn't think this self proclaimed city was important.

Freedom City wasn't a trade center. It wasn't a tourist town. It didn't house any great sports teams or major political structures. What put Freedom City on the map was the fact that Mister E called it home. Mister E, the first known meta-human. The oldest living costumed crime fighter in the world. And widely considered the most powerful force for good as well.

It was also the location of another well known institution's main headquarters. When one thought of Freedom City they thought of a group of famous costume adventures known as the Freedom Society. A collection of heroes and champions with a reputation of being the best and brightest. A group which had a very long history.

It had begun in 1953 when a group of young mystery men founded a sort of gentleman's club to share their adventures with each other. They were the first of a new breed. Men who for various reasons decided to don a mask and face the crime of their cities. Even among each other they refused to unmask.

It wasn't until the early sixties that the public even knew about the Freedom Society. A fact which most historians take as meaning that before 1961 there was no Society. This was far from the truth. That was the year however that the Society entered a new era. On August 5th, 1961 the current members banded together for the first time in public against an extra-dimensional invasion.

Over the years the team roster had changed many times. Members would die or retire, and younger heroes would join. The one constant was a single man. The man known only as 'Mister E'. For almost two decades the world wondered exactly what his abilities were. After all, he had rarely demonstrated the same meta abilities twice.

None of that mattered though to two travelers as they exited the airport. The elder was an overweight bald man wore a dingy white training gi. He had soiled white bandana wrapped around his head, and wore wire rim glasses. The man's name was Genma Saotome. His eyes were constantly scanning the area, in search of easily acquired food. Not that he had any money with him. Paying for things wasn't exactly the man's style.

The younger traveler was a seventeen year old girl. She stood barely over five feet tall. Her hair was a rich crimson. She wore a sleeveless red silk tunic of Chinese styling and loose black Chinese silk pants. Unlike the older man who was barefoot, the girl was wearing soft soled slip on shoes. She turned to her companion and snarled.

"This is all your fault pop! Just had to wish 'to no longer have your worthless son turn into a weak girl', didn't ya?" The teenage girl snapped at her companion.

If she was honest with herself, the girl wasn't really surprised that Genma had screwed up her life, again. Such an event was almost a weekly affair. She didn't know where he'd gotten an honest to god magic lamp of wishes. But the fact that her father had screwed up with poorly worded wishes was par for course. The idiot hadn't even bothered to find out the conditions and rules for what could be wished for.

The overweight man threw his Styrofoam cup of coffee at the girl. "Quit acting like a weak girl, boy!"

The liquid hit her, and the girl instantly became a boy with black hair. He was almost a foot taller too. The newly turned boy collapsed to the ground in pain. In the past such temperatures would have barely fazed him. But now the coffee had left visible burns where it had struck that were far in excess of what should have occurred.

In another part of the city a middle aged man had just emerged from the First Second Third National Bank. His hair was a light brown color, and his eyes a soft blue. He stood a little over five and a half feet tall. His cloths were a loose fitting tee shirt and blue blazer. He also wore baggy sweat pants. His horn rimmed glasses gave the man an air of knowledge. His name was Kevin Smith, and he was far older then he appeared.

The week for Kevin had been fairly quiet. No emergencies had cropped up which required his attention. The crime rate in his city was down, in small thanks to the newbies who had begun to patrol Freedom. No new invasions or major threats which locals couldn't handle All in all, Kevin had been enjoying a well deserved break.

A soft beeping at his waist told the man his vacation was over. With a sigh Kevin grabbed his pager and looked at it. _A code alpha-dee, that sounds bad. I had better check what is going on._ Kevin replaced the pager, and pulled out his cell phone. Quickly dialing, he called the precinct.

"This is E, I just got word of an alpha dee, what is the situation?"

He listened, Kevin's face turning grim. He had not known the kid mentioned long. But to hear of a fellow adventurer's death was a hard thing. He stepped into an alley and pulled off the shirt and jacket. These got put in a pocket dimension. Next he removed his shoes and pants. Now he was garbed only in a solid white body suit with an E on his chest. Reaching into one of his belt pouches, the man retrieved a white half mask and put it on.

The now costumed man lifted into the air under his own power. Like a human rocket he shot off towards the airport. He knew the situation had to be serious. A code alpha d meant that a registered hero had died in action. Kevin, or rather Mister E as the public knew him, hadn't seen the youth called Bio Blade in almost a half century. Still, hearing of his death was hard. _Whoever did this, they must be powerful. The kid wasn't a pushover. At least he bought the police time to get that boy out of danger._

When he finally arrived at the airport, the costumed adventurer flew through the shattered wall. His approach indicated the wall had been cut, not broken by brute strength. Of the reported murderer however there was no sign. Which made him concerned. There shouldn't have been enough time for the suspect to have escaped, and he'd seen no one leaving the building.

Mr E frowned and tapped his chin lightly with a single finger. Nodding afterwords, he once again scanned the area. This time he did so with the ability to see heat signatures. And there, tiptoeing across the room was a man shaped heat signature. One where to the naked eye nothing was visible. In a split second Mr E was standing in the path of his invisible query.

"I suggest you surrender peacefully and face justice. Too many have died already this day. Try to fight me and you will lose."

The invisible man was one overweight martial artist named Genma Saotome. And he was currently blinking in surprise. Genma didn't recognize the white clad figure before him. The man was clearly not a martial artist. He moved like he was barely trained. And the mystery man's aura spoke of extremely low levels of chi. That indicated a severe lack of power.

And yet, this man had appeared out of no where. Plus he could obviously detect Genma. That alone was alarming. No one should have been able to do that. And that oni which had gotten between him and The Boy. This place was far more dangerous then Genma had expected. _I'll have to take out this __one too, then I can fetch the boy and leave._

With that thought in mind, Genma unleashed his deadliest technique. A set of chi formed vacuum blades flew at the heroic Mister E, impacting on the white clad man's chest. The only visible effect however was the tearing of fabric. The costumed man looked down at his chest, then back at Genma.

"Now look what you've done. Sigh, it looks like I'll be using my old costume for a few days."

Mr E lashed out a fist. The fact he was unharmed had startled Genma to the point he failed to react in time. The moronic martial artist flew backwards. His back slammed into a wall, and he slid down slowly. _What the hell?_ The martial artist frantically thought to himself. It was a minor miracle that he didn't drop his concentration.

That white clad man could clearly see him. A fact which Genma ignored. After all, no one could see him when using this technique. It was a perfect method of stealth. Or so he believed. Genma started to sneak away. In his mind, it was a perfect plan. Slip away, find some cold water, then casually stroll out of the airport,. Then he could find the boy.

"Gosh darn it," Mr E snarled.

There were times when he seriously disliked the random nature of his gifts. This was one of them. Already the thermal vision was fading. And when he tried to refresh it, all the costumed adventurer got was a resistance to heat. That and faster healing. How long those would last was anybody's guess. The last of his thermal vision vanished as he saw the suspect starting to move. By the time he got there, the suspect was already gone.

_**XxXxX**_

"_All units be advised, suspect is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. He has demonstrated visual obscuring abilities and can project nearly invisible projectile blades at will. Caution is advised."_

This was the first thing Ranma heard as he came to. He was still in pain, but it had lessened somehow. The burns from being splashed were visibly improved too. The teenage boy found himself strapped to a bed of some sort. Next to him were two figures. One was a woman wearing a green body suit.

The other stood five feet tall. It was male. He had gray fur with darker gray stripes evenly spaced on his arms and legs. The male wore a red training gi with black sash. His tail twitched nervously. The triangular ears on top of the male's head were laying flat. The male looked almost like... like...

"C-c-c-c-CAT!" Ranma screamed

The boy struggled in a blind panic. A few months ago that would have been enough to break free. Now however he felt weaker then ever before. It wasn't just strength that had been stripped from Ranma's male form. The durability he'd gained from ten years of insane training was gone too. As well as his massive chi reserves.

Ranma's struggles increased to the point where bruises started to form. And then he went slack. An angry sounding "Meow" was heard, and the humanoid feline frowned. An exchange of hisses and meows followed. Afterwords the feline humanoid was scowling as best he could. He looked at the paramedic, and nearly growled.

"It isn't safe to unsecured 'wild horse'. And avoid cold water if you please."

"Why's that Cat?" The woman asked.

"Please, it's Catmandu. The boy is extremely pissed. And while it's unclear, I got something about a demand for cold water and having metal cutting claws. It is most perplexing though. How is it a human child knows the language of my kind?"

"No idea," the paramedic said. "And would you rather I use your given name, Cat?"

Catmandu visibly shuddered at that. "Bast no, you know that I hate that name! I am getting too old for this. There is a reason I only teach others anymore. Still, wisdom and experience may prove invaluable should the boy's attacker try again. Can you believe once I sought out such danger as a thrill?"

/"Release me!"/ Ranma yowled.

Claws made of pure chi extended and dug into the bed. They faded within seconds. That was more then enough time however for the gurney to be shredded. The effects on the others in the area was immediate. The one called Catmandu hissed in alarm. The woman fainted. Ranma found himself struggling in the remains of the gurney.

/"Calm yourself, kitten. There is no danger to you. We seek only to lend you aid."/ Catmandu soothed.

/"Want OUT!"/ the cat-like boy yowled again angrily.

Catmandu shook his head side to side. His hand reached down and began to scratch behind the boy's ears. After several seconds he lightly tapped the boy in the temple. This caused Ranma to fall unconscious. A fortunate event too as the ambulance had come to a stop. The rear doors opened, and emergency workers were stunned to see the wreckage in the back. This was going to be a long day.

Two hours later he'd changed his mind. _It's worse then a long day. This is hell._ Catmandu thought. He'd just witnessed a water fountain malfunction. This caused a high powered stream of water to spray through the air, get deflected by three different clipboards carried by three different nurses, and hit the cat-boy while the mystery patient was yowling and racing through the halls.

Catmandu then saw the boy somehow turn into a cute red headed girl upon being struck by the water. The fact the fountain stopped malfunctioning right after that marked the entire event as 'damn strange'. As if that hadn't been weird enough, the now cat-girl had paused and started to actually lick the burns. And he could see them fading with each lick.

Someone in one of the rooms must have been watching Lassie reruns. Catmandu himself barely managed to refrain from jumping at the barking coming from the room. The mystery boy/girl didn't even try. She jumped strait up, and clung to the ceiling. To the amazement of everyone, the tile ceiling didn't collapse. The girl's pigtail had also seemed to be stand on end, and not just because of being upside down. It had actually bristled.

And now Catmandu was staring out a window on the fourth floor of the hospital. _I am far too old for this,_ he thought. The girl had jumped out the window and leaped from building to building heading towards the outskirts. In his youth the cat person would likely have tried following. But that was almost forty years ago. Catmandu pulled out a communicator from his belt.

"Hello Moth, it is Catmandu. I just thought I would give you advanced notice. The mansion may soon host a young girl who thinks she is a feline. Red hair, short, well endowed for a human. And can manifest energy claws which easily turn titanium into metal shavings. Me? I shall return to the Academy. I am too old to chase hyperactive kittens across the city."

_**XxXxX**_

Dinner at the Society mansion was usually a chaotic affair. Between differing dietary needs, clashing personalities, and general disregard of social niceties it was often only two steps away from a full on battle. Today was no different. A lavender skinned woman with moth like wings was arguing with a blue haired man. A green skinned man who was easily seven feet tall was in an impromptu tug-of-war match with a bat winged feral girl with glass like skin and hair over a metal cylinder. Then there was the gang banger jealously guarding his raw steak from a baby with similar features to the feral.

_This current generation lacks a certain class,_ Mr E thought as he entered the dining room. He pulled off his mask and slumped into his chair. He'd not even had time to change tunics yet. _Three hours wasted searching for that murder. The boy has gone missing. And Fluffy says another feral is maybe on their way here. Oh joy oh rapture._

"So, Sam... What brings you to Freedom tonight? I thought you were still busy in Dubuque? Something about a meta destroying buildings."

The blue haired man paused in his argument. "It's the oddest thing Kevin. I finally caught the punk last week. He starts yelling 'this is all Ranma's fault' in Japanese and blowing up random objects with a touch. Then when I tried chasing the damn punk down everything kept shifting.

"Fucking kid's a god damn area porter. Next thing I know I'm chasing the kid through space cruisers, alien forests, and China. Did I ever mention how much I hate porters and god damn magic? That punk is STRONG! He hit me once with that damn umbrella, and knocked me into some pool of water. Next thing I know I'm a damn teenage girl."

."Last... week?" The green skinned man asked. "And what about your condition?"

Sam shrugged. "Near as I can figure, the damn curse ain't affected. Resets it too I think. Not that it would matter much. Sonova bitch!"

That last had been because the bat winged girl had knocked over a pitcher of miller light. Which naturally had flowed across the table and soaked Sam. He, or rather she now scowled. It wasn't so much that Sam minded being female. There was that too though. There were advantages though. More so, it was the fact (s)he was getting soaked so often. That, and being a teen again. That sucked.

"So Kevin," Sam started, "What happened to..."

She was interrupted as klaxons went off indicating an intruder. With the noise everyone except the bat winged girl jerked to attention. Everyone had worked together for years. A fact made obvious when they started to respond in an organized manner. The moth like woman started towards the mansion's security center. The green skinned extra-terrestrial began to herd non-combatants to a more secure area. The remaining two people started moving towards the sound of smashing objects.

Kevin pulled his mask back on. While he did this, Sam's form shimmered due to intense cold. Afterwords the blue haired neo-girl was garbed in a ill fitting white bodysuit. The sweater and jeans were gone. Her skin had taken on a bluish-white color and was mildly reflective. They both skidded to a stop when they reached the disturbance.

A man sized hole had been torn through the outer wall. As well as several other hallways in a strait line. Sam bent over and looked down the path of destruction. Seeing a red headed girl on all four limbs sniffing the air, then beginning to claw through yet another wall in a strait line towards the kitchen caused the icy heroine to blink.

"Correct me if I'm wrong E, but isn't this place built with some of the strongest materials in the known galaxy?"

"Of course," Mr E said calmly as he examined the initial hole.

"And it can, and has survived an atomic explosion with minimal structural damage?"

"Yes, as I recall Reactor barely neutralized the radiation at the time. And had to go on medical leave for a year afterwords." Mr E replied. "Why do you ask?"

"And the interior can withstand impacts from almost anything up to, but not including punches from some deities we've met?"

"It should, but why these questions?"

"Because there's a teenage girl carving through all that like the walls aren't even there. And considering this simple fact, I'm unsure how we will stop her from trashing the mansion." Sam said with a sigh.

**Next time: **With a killer on the loose and a feral girl tearing up the mansion, can things get worse? The Freedom Society has it's hands full when a terrorist also starts causing trouble.

**Author Notes:**

Other then the cursed springs, Ranma, and those living in Nerima the world setting is that of my heroes unlimited campaign. This means it is a world of super heroes, and super villains. There is a long history of heroics. A history of heroes dying to save the world, and old guard retiring. Freedom City is a fictional city where a good portion of 20 years of super heroic roleplaying has taken place.

The Freedom Society is the campaign world's equivalent of the Justice League or Avengers. It was the main focus of the original campaign my gaming group ran. The campaign was initially set in 1948. The first sessions were us taking turns Gming one shot solo adventures for each other. Maybe the occasional team up of 2 or 3 of our seven characters.

Originally the 'Freedom Society' was a way for our characters to interact and share info with each other between adventures. This phase of the team lasted till 1956 in-game. That was when we got pulled into stopping a covert invasion from an extra-dimensional army. That storyline lasted till 1961 in-game with many adventures. In-game, that was the year the war's final battle was fought. A battle which spilled into the public eye.

The 1st 2nd 3rd National Bank was the scene of our first adventure. And it's name was kind of a joke initially. During 20 years of gaming and about 70 years of timeline in-game, that branch has developed a reputation as THE hardest bank to rob. By 2000 it had recorded something like 6,592 attempted robberies since it's grand opening in 1948, none successful. Most by would be supervillains.

The bank has almost become a right of passage for criminals. Almost all major villains in north America have at one point or another tried robbing it. Newbie heroes in the area tend to stake out the bank. After all, it's almost a daily event that some costumed clown tries robbing it. That branch also has the highest security, including having a staff of highly trained meta-human security guards.

It's heroes are not taken from any media. They are taken from years of roleplaying with friends using the Heroes Unlimited system. Catmandu is one of those heroes. He was active from the year 1972 till 1987 in the world setting. As a martial artist mutant animal, he has only his skill and those natural abilities retained from his original form of a house cat.

These days he's retired from active crime fighting. Instead he teaches the next generation of heroes hand to hand combat. Once in a great while he comes out of retirement for special cases. He doesn't study any specific style of martial arts. Rather, he knows (and is a master of) a more generic 'American' style of martial arts. In Heroes Unlimited terms he has Hand to Hand-Martial Arts instead of one of the styles from Ninjas & Superspies.

Mr E is their world's equivalent to Superman. A man with a noble heart and more power then any one meta-human should ever have. As well as the world's first known meta-human. His initial powers back in the late 40's were being immortal and the ability to grant powers to himself or others via touch. The duration of said powers is random, lasting anywhere from 15 seconds to being permanent (very rare). A few minutes to an hour are usual. He can't exactly control what powers are given either.

By the year 2000 Mr E had acquired something like 15 different powers which don't fade. These range from being able to see really far away, to invulnerability, to turning into living ice. Not all the powers are useful outside of special situations. And some actually can't be used in conjunction with each other. Such as his ice form and fire form. Naturally, in his few elemental forms the invulnerability is negated. He also has the danger of having all but his original powers being stripped by anything that can even temporarily negate super powers.

Is it just me, or are these notes starting to get as long as an entire chapter?


	2. Encounters

**Author Notes:**

Well, here it is. Chapter two of Wild Horses Can't Be Tamed. Questions are raised, some are answered, and a neko has some fun. Enjoy!

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Every career criminal knows that the murder of a police officer is going too far. It happens on occasion. But most criminals will try to injure rather then kill when dealing with police. It is far easier to escape justice. Or at the very least survive. Everyone in the underworld is aware that cop killers rarely make it to trial. The only real exception to this rule being costumed criminals. They usually were tough enough to make it to trial, and the safety of a prison cell. Assuming they don't escape beforehand.

Only the most hardened or insane however murder costumed heroes. Not because it is harder, although it is. The real reason for this was that cape killers drew the ire of not just the local precinct, but every single hero in the nation. It is generally considered very bad for business. That isn't to say heroes never got killed. Just that most so called super villains prefer not to bother. Especially if the method would leave a body.

Peroski was such a person. He had simple goals. They weren't his original goals. The criminal known as Piping Hot Peroski was the second to go by that name. The first had been his grandfather. A brilliant engineer and talented chemist. But not the most sensible of people. For almost fifty years his grandfather regularly tried to rob the First Second Third National. That had been just the first step in a grandiose plan to conquer the world.

Peroski never learned what the second step would have been. His grandfather had consistently failed in phase one. Even the reason for robbing that specific branch had died with the elder. He still tried to rob that bank now and then in memory of his grandpa. But he had his own plans. Plans which typically worked a little better then "try robbing the toughest bank to crack" had.

Part of his problems stemmed from the armored suit. Peroski knew that. Yet he'd been unable to do anything with the original design. Still, it was very hard to generate respect and fear when you dress like a hotdog in a bun to commit crimes. And even harder when the main weapons of your armored costume are ketchup and mustard spray cannons. The ketchup being a highly corrosive acid and the mustard being a super polymer adhesive didn't make his weapons any less ridiculed. Neither did the unique aspect of the chemicals. When mixed they became a contact explosive.

No one expected him to be dangerous. At least not at first. Even those who knew tended to disregard Peroski's threat. Often that alone was enough to buy him an advantage. And if that infernal Streak person would leave him alone, Peroski was sure he could finally hit the big time. It was one reason he'd left New York. Working out of Detroit was safer. Fewer heroes meant less chance of capture.

Which didn't explain why he was in Freedom City. Hell, Peroski usually avoided the place like the plague. But the pay for this job was quite generous. And it had been all up front too. Sure he would be captured. Peroski expected that. It was in fact part of the plan. He was the diversion after all. Diversion for who? Not his business to ask. He just had to cause a big ruckus.

That was proving quite easy. The devastation from his current fight was really racking up. A fight with a panda of all things. Once he dealt with it, Peroski had decided he'd track down that cape killer in the area. Whoever the guy was, he might be worth working with. _Oh hell!_ He thought as Peroski barely avoided another of those wind blades the panda kept using. They had already left several deep gashes in his armor. How and why a panda was able to do that was a very good question.

"Heh, panda steak tonight." Peroski laughed as a spray of ketchup finally connected.

Some of it managed to impact with several globs of mustard from an earlier hit. The resulting explosions he knew were unlikely to kill. But they would probably cripple the animal. His jaw dropped as the smoke cleared. Instead of being laid out, the panda looked singed and angry. A quick glance at his HUD told Peroski the tanks for his spray cannons were almost empty. It was time to go.

"Why wont you stay down?"

Peroski reached into a compartment and withdrew what looked like a polish sausage. He quickly sprayed a line of his mustard adhesive onto the sausage, and threw it at the panda. _Five, four, three, two, what the hell?_ The sausage projectile sailed over the head of the panda as it improbably bent backwards. When the sausage exploded, it did so not stuck to the panda's head, but lodged on a car.

"You have got to be kidding."

Peroski holstered the second nozzle and flipped a switch with his tongue. Servos complained audibly as he raced down the street at close to sixty miles an hour.

_**XxXxX**_

A figure of living ice crept along the rubble strewn path. Absently she pushed her dark blue hair out of the way. The fact her hair never turned to ice always puzzled Cold Snap. She eyed the query at the end of this new tunnel with caution. It was a girl with vivid red hair. She was on hands and feet, improbably maintaining easy balance.

The girl, she noted, had stopped carving through walls in the kitchen. Now she was rubbing against the refrigerator. Silently Cold Snap motioned for her friend to follow. The frigid defender stepped into the kitchen, and froze. The mansion's intruder had stopped and turned towards him. With a pitiful mewling she kept looking between Cold Snap and the fridge.

_She can carve through the mansion, yet begs for the fridge to be opened? What the hell? _"Watch my back Kevin. This could get ugly."

"_I hate to interrupt, but I have reports that a panda and a six foot tall hotdog are tearing up the business district."_ A female voice said over their coms.

"Ah hell, Peroski's in town. How bad is it? And anyone closer on hand that can stop that damn nut?"

"_Patching into traffic cameras in the area now. The panda is fighting Peroski, and holding it's own. It has some sort of energy projection, I think. Hang on, I'm getting dispatch reports that Amera-Can is being taken to the hospital with bloodless gashes on arms and chest. Isn't that one of the kids Cree's training?"_

"A projectile that causes bloodless cuts?" Keven, also known as Mister E asked. "That sounds like the man who killed Bioblade."

Before any further discourse could be made the girl bounded towards Mr E. She seemed surprised when he didn't fall over. The lass rebounded off his chest, landing on a counter. Her head cocked to the side inquisitively. Then she leaped once more at Mr E. There didn't appear to be any malice involved. From the playful smile, both men concluded this girl was just playing games now.

"_Alert on Peroski has been called off. Seems he fled. I do wish the local police paid more attention to APB put out on metas. They didn't take calls seriously till Amera-Can got hurt."_

Cold Snap scowled, again. "Doesn't sound like Peroski. The bastard's always is up to something. Random destruction just ain't his style"

His thoughts were interrupted by an extremely rambunctious teenage girl pouncing on Cold Snap. While his strength was no where near as prodigious as Mr E's, Cold Snap could usually have withstood the assault easily. He'd not been expecting it though. The sudden shock startled him out of his ice form. The great strength left with the reversion to human. And without enhanced strength the blue haired woman was knocked to the ground.

With a grunt she struck the floor. More grunts followed as the feline acting girl began to kneed her stomach. She turned around three times, then settled in for a nap on Cold Snap, or rather Sam's lap now. Seeing this caused Mr E to stand down. His laughter was quiet, but still caused his body to shake violently.

"Not funny. You saw what happened to the walls. What if she decides to scratch?"

"Relax Sam, she's acting like a house cat. Actually, more like a kitten then a cat. So she's probably getting ready to take a nap. I'll call the contractor for repairs."

Over the intercom Moth spoke again. _"Keven, if you could meet me in the security room I might have something of interest to you. Cree, it's okay to let the guests out of the safe room. Sam has the situation well in hand."_

_**XxXxX**_

Kevin nodded to the purple skinned woman as he entered the security room. For the last few years she'd made it a nerve center for the team. From here Moth could access databanks around the world, and if needed the IGP hyper-network too. The galactic police officer didn't go out into the field as much as she once had. But her contribution was invaluable. Not that Kevin blamed her for avoiding field work. Those armorsilk dresses she favored were expensive to replace. Just buying five cost her almost a year's pay last time.

"What do you have for me?" He asked.

Moth turned from the bank of monitors and Kevin saw her scowl. "Information on who the intruder is for one, I think. As well as who killed Bioblade. I just finished cross referencing the airliner passenger lists to see who turned up missing. And from flight eight-seventy nine out of Japan there's one Genma Saotome and Ranma Saotome listed as missing. The police file for the elder Saotome is still printing. It's over three hundred pages long, with entries from five nations."

Keven whistled at that. He grabbed the first few pages that had already finished printing. As he read the man frowned. "Alias of 'mister panda', 'wandering panda', and 'Ranma Saotome'? I thought Ranma was the missing boy?"

"He is," Moth replied. "It looks like the father used his son's name to create tabs at local bars for almost ten years. Now this is interesting, it list's Ranma Saotome's gender as 'varies' with a notation to contact someone named Nabiki Tendo for information. The note also says 'bring lots of money' regarding getting information on Ranma. It looks like no real criminal record, but there are several warnings regarding him somehow attracting potentially destructive magic."

Kevin didn't exactly hear her. He was busy reading the files on his possible cape killer. "Harboring a panty thief? Torture, child abuse, more charges of theft then I thought it possible for one man to generate in just ten years, assault and battery, cruelty to animals... Gosh darn it, this man makes me sick."  
>"You know Kevin, it is okay to swear once in a while. Other then a name, there isn't much information on Ranma Saotome. Everything directs back to buying information from this Tendo person. Catmandu did fax over his report from the hospital though. He was riding in the ambulance carrying the boy. The boy it seems is our current guest. He described the most unlikely series of events I ever heard of leading up to the boy getting wet and becoming a girl with fiery red hair."<p>

"And Catmandu couldn't lie to save the universe. I know, he tried back in nineteen seventy-six. It took all of us to convince that pan-dimensional wrestler not to destroy everything just because Fluffy said the entity looked stupid with his mask on upside down. He never did have a sense of tact. Worst poker face I've ever seen too." Kevin said with a laugh.

Moth frowned slightly as a light started blinking. "Oh dear, it looks like someone will have to go after Amy again. In the excitement Cree must have lost track of her, and the sensors indicate she's just left the grounds."

"Let Cree handle it, I need a long hot bath."


	3. History

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

The world was slowly coming into focus. The first thing was touch. Skin against skin, soft, pliable. This immediately raised alarm bells. Next came hearing. Grumbling, female voice, unrecognized. The alarm was upgraded in priority. Reach out with other senses, feel the area. It registers as a kitchen to chi sense. Small when compared to others she's seen. Definitely a female beneath her.

Her, that piece of information settles into place finally. _I'm female, not male._ Eyes finally start working, so they are opened. _Yup, it's a girl. Cute one too._ _Why do I feel so cold though?_ A quick glance at her body informed her the youth was barely clothed. A torn hospital gown, and that was about it. The teenage girl beneath her looked like she should have been overheating though.

_What's the last thing I remember? Right, one of those things. How did I get here? Where is here? And who is she? _The still awakening youth stood and took in more of her surroundings. It was definitely a kitchen. And behind her was a long tunnel of destruction. As if something had crashed through wall after wall. _Did I do that? If so, then why?_ The girl's stomach growled loudly, giving a possible answer.

Seeing that the other girl in the room was starting to awaken too, she stood away and near the fridge. _I wonder why the fridge is chained shut?_ The youth raised a hand to the back of her neck. This she used to scratch her neck nervously. An outside observer might have wondered why the girl was so nervous. She watched the mystery teen stand, and then spoke.

/"I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry bout this."/ speaking Japanese

/"Sorry about what?"/ The mystery girl asked Ranma in the same language.

/"Uhm, whatever I did? I was acting like a cat, right?"/

_Acting like a cat? And looks to not remember anything. Just what is going on here?_ _I'd better not take any chances. _She looked at the girl called Ranma and scowled. The youth stood and transformed into living ice. As she did so the intense cold of the change morphed her turtle neck and slacks into a white body suit. There were greyish blue lines along the outside of the legs until just below the pectorial muscle. This created the appearance of a white cross. Her tennis shoes and socks had become greyish blue combat boots, and she was now wearing greyish blue gloves.

Ranma for her part saw the strange metamorphosis, and came to the only logical conclusion to her. _Great, an akuma. Better put it down fast._ Ranma surged forward and threw a lightning fast strait punch. To her surprise, the ice woman flowed around the punch with ease. _Damn, it moves as fast as Cologne._ He had to twist almost painfully to avoid a two finger strike.

While Ranma didn't recognize the style, he did know this being was using martial arts. And while it hurt to admit, signs indicated she was possibly more skilled then Ranma. A feat which seemed almost impossible. Back and forth they flowed in a graceful dance of lethal moves. Then the assumed demon vanished. Ranma spread out his senses, but still couldn't detect anything.

A sharp blow to the back of the head was the first indication her opponent was still around. Ranma spun around, but didn't see anything. A kick to the side caused the pig tailed youth to collapse momentarily. There the Akuma was, standing in the open once more. Ranma felt an chill pass over her. Then ice rapidly started to form around her arms and legs. The more Ranma struggled, the thicker the ice became. Even her chi enhanced strength did little good. Finally between the cold and exertions, Ranma gave up with a tired groan.

/"Good,"/ the ice woman said in Japanese. /"Mind telling me why you attacked on sight? As well as why you tore a path through this building earlier?"/

/"And why wouldn't I attack an akuma the old letch sicks on me?"/ Ranma snarled.

_**XxXxX**_

In another part of the mansion two men sat in a security room. By all appearances they were relaxed. The taller of the two also appeared older due to his snow white hair. Other then his hair, the man was rather nondescript. He stood almost seven feet tall, yet was rather skinny. That isn't to say he lacked muscle, just that it wasn't bulky. This man was wearing worn jeans and a black tee shirt which did little to hide his sculpted abdomen.

His companion looked younger by a few years. This wasn't the case however. Kevin Smith was far older then anyone would suspect just looking at him. The man had been thirty five when his life changed forever. That was back in 1943. That was the year an experiment in renewable energy had gone haywire. It was only later that Kevin had learned the full impact his experiment had on the world.

To this day he was still paying for his mistake. A friend still in a coma, and his dream perverted into a weapon of war by people who hadn't understood the underlying concepts. Not that Kevin understood those concepts anymore. That too was part of his punishment. To not only live until somehow he'd atoned for the accidental creation of atomic weapons, but to have all scientific knowledge stripped from him until then.

"You know Jim, I still miss it sometimes. I've done so much good for the world since then, but I can't help but wonder if I really deserve this."

"What do you mean?" The white haired man asked.

"I never told you before, but I was a scientist. There's a reason I'm here today. And my greatest project was the cause."

"That's bull, Kevin. What could you possibly have done?" Jim snorted as he began oiling an ornate katana.

"I can't tell you anymore how it worked. But I had been working on a new type of power generator back in '43. Then something went wrong. I'm not sure what, maybe my calculations were off. Who knows. All I really remember about that day was a blinding light and heat. I didn't come out of the coma till '46, at which point I learned what happened to my research.

"You see Jim, I was working on a parallel line of research to the one credited with the creation of the atomic bomb. They didn't, from what I remember they were having a lot of trouble. Finding the right fissionable material alone was nearly impossible for them. Uranium was tried, but too unstable. Early tests using it constantly detonated mere minutes after the uranium was installed. The slightest bump or electrical impulse would start the chain reaction.

"As I learned, after my lab accident the research and remains of my prototype were taken by the military. They had decided that with a little modification, my generator would make the ideal weapon to end the war. You have to understand, my original design was for a hydrogen reactor. Clean burning, with a renewable fuel source. The fuel it's self, simple water, would constantly be replenishing it's self if everything worked out."

Jim shook his head and continued caring for his blade. "Even if I believe that, what do you mean your punishment?"

"Jim, my work killed millions back in the forties. It's still being used to kill people and destroy the environment. As Dream Chyld explained to me back when I first met her, the bombs caused a lot of problems for various gods and sub-realities. And they wanted someone to blame. They all picked me. I'm fated to 'live till I atone for my crimes'. A task I fear is impossible. Especially considering what Sam told us after that trip of his."

After that statement things got quiet. Really quiet. The two turned back towards the monitors and watched as a brief fight between Sam and the odd girl broke out. Neither man could understand a word being said by those two. The danger it seemed had passed though. Especially as they watched Sam make a sandwich for their surprise guest.

"What language is that?" Jim asked. "It sounds Asian, but I can't place it."

"Not sure Jim." Kevin sighed mightily. "Guess I should suit up and go on patrol. There's still a cape killer out there. Enjoy you're day off."

"Yeah, right. Like we ever get a day off in this business."

_**XxXxX**_

_What is that girl hunting now?_ Thought a man as he stalked through the woods. He went by the name Alex Rivers, but that wasn't exactly the truth. He was wearing sturdy slacks with a long sleeved black leather jacket. At his side was a colt python and a beretta 9mm. While he didn't think they would be needed, that was the minimum armaments that Alex was willing to carry. He never left base without at least two pistols. A fact which had saved his life multiple times.

Currently he was on the hunt. His target wasn't someone to shoot though. Rather he was trying to prevent a tragedy. There was a young humanoid out there that would do something regrettable if he didn't find her. As if tracking a flier wasn't hard enough. Fortunately the woods were too thick for her to maneuver very well. Thinking about that called to mind why there was a forest on the mansion estate.

It had been almost twelve years since he'd been exiled from Bk'Tachk. Ten years had passed since he first arrived on this planet. Seven years since he'd officially joined the Freedom Society. And in that time he'd been feeling increasingly home sick. Not that he could ever go home. It just wasn't fair. Being exiled for saving his people from a traitorous tribe during a ritual war.

Sure he'd killed the other tribe's warriors with weapons he'd built himself. But that was only because the other tribe planned to slaughter his entire tribe under cover of ritual war. But no one, not even his father had cared about why he'd acted. At the time he'd cursed the mother forest for the injustice. Over the years though Alex had found a sort of peace.

He still could preform his favorite activity, namely the designing and building of interesting weapons. Plus he could use his hobby to help others. That alone was worth all the pain and sorrow of the past. Since his exile Alex had traveled the galaxy. He'd seen the best, and the worst of various societies. Yet it was here on earth, the one planet he'd never wanted to land on, that he had finally found a home.

His people lived on a jungle world. A world where trees reached far into the skies, and the ground was unsafe to traverse. So it should come as no surprise that Alex found these woods comforting and familiar. That the trees planted here were not from earth, few actually realized. It was one of the rare times Alex had put his skills to a non-military use.

The vast estate was surrounded by a low powered energy field. The field did nothing to hinder animal or terrestrial plant life. In truth it was highly specialized. Only extraterrestrial plant life was affected. Any seeds or roots that tried to pass outside the boundary were instantly vaporized. This had been done to protect the earth's biosphere. While they would never grow as tall as on Bk'Tachk, being surrounded by a piece of his home world was soothing. The girl, Amy also seemed to like this forest.

Which brought him back to the present. Alex heard a crashing sound, and ran towards it. What he saw however brought the man to a halt. There was Amy all right. But the sound hadn't been her smashing someone into a tree, like he'd feared. Rather it had been the girl striking a tree head first. The reason for this appeared to be a panda in some sort of combat stance.

"Well now, this looks interesting." Alex said to himself.

He settled back to watch the apparent fight. The feral winged girl landed and growled at the panda. Then she began to run towards it. Only to be hit by a snap kick to the head. This sent Amy flying into a tree yet again. She charged once more, only to be sent flying by a strait punch. A fourth charge was met with a flying kick.

_Uh oh,_ Alex thought as she reached for a rarely used knife. The girl distrusted tools. For her to pull that out, things had just gotten serious. She was no longer in 'hunting' mode. Now it was full on survival mode. Something that didn't happen often. And then only when the feral girl felt herself truly in danger.

The thing is, Alex wasn't sure which one to protect. On the one hand, pandas were endangered. On the other hand, the girl was under his protection. Not to mention the panda was apparently a very skilled fighter. Somehow. _It's probably an escaped experiment or something. But how is the animal fighting at this level?_

_**XxXxX**_

/"So, you claim you're actually a boy, you're father turns into a panda, and that you're just a martial artist?"/

/"Yes Bricklbuster-san."/ Ranma replied.

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. /"Do I look like a gods damned moron? Do you honestly think I'm going to believe such a bullshit story?"/

It was obvious being called a liar didn't sit well with Ranma. What was equally obvious was that she was considering wiping the floor with this 'Sam Bricklbuster'. There were many reasons for that. One of them being that no girl would go by the name Sam. Another being that it was obvious this 'sam' was an akuma. How else would she turn into ice like that?

_I hate being a girl,_ Ranma thought to herself. _But to be that weak... But obviously she doesn't believe me either._ The youthful martial artist made her way to the sink and turned on the cold water. After thrusting one hand into the water, she slowly began to add hot water. Once she'd have used water heated on a stove. But that hurt too much anymore.

Once the temperature reached that magic point the Saotome girl's body underwent a startling metamorphosis. Skin became a little rougher as her height increased. Muscle mass became thicker and more defined, while her bust size decreased. Her crimson hair grew darker until it was black. Within seconds instead of a girl, there was a raven haired teenage boy.

He glared at Sam and turned off the water, hot tap first forgetting about the curse and triggering it. /"Now do you believe me?"/

_**XxXxX**_

Things were quiet at the airport. A fact which was rather unusual. So when a violet skinned woman with moth wings landed the security personnel took notice. Especially considering the woman wore a backless dress. That she was walking directly towards the security office caused whispers to circulate. Everyone on duty knew who the woman was. What they didn't know was why she'd come today.

It was a well known fact that Moth rarely went out into the field anymore. Not since an unknown incident back in 2000. The public wasn't aware of just what happened in the summer of 2000. Only that the Freedom Society had vanished for three months. When they returned, a mass funeral was held for twenty four of the world's heroes. All had been current or former members of The Society. Some had been in retirement at the time as well.

Nor were people really aware of just where Moth came from. Common speculation was that she might be a mutant. Or maybe have been subjected to some government experiment. Some claimed the winged champion was a former assassin, although few gave that credit. She didn't talk much about her origins. In truth, Moth never talked about it with the press.

But now here she was, sitting in the security room alone. No one on the staff knew why, or what she was doing. Some speculated that it might be related to the previous day. But if so they reasoned, why not speak with the eye witnesses? No, something more was going on. Whatever it was, the consensus was it must be major. After all, Moth never went into the field these days for anything less then end of the world situations.

**Author Notes:**

Akuma is a Japanese word for demon.

Not too much action here, and still Ranma isn't taking center stage. But you do get to see more of who the Freedom Society is, and hear some of their history. That's actually the problem with writing a Heroes Unlimited fanfiction. While there are some npc characters created by Palladium Books a HU campaign is as much, or more, about the player characters.

A good campaign setting might not use any of the stock NPCs. Instead it'll have it's own world setting, with it's own heroes and villains. This is the case with the Freedom Society setting. The campaign was originally set a few years after WW2. It began as a low powered 'mystery men' style campaign. Then over the course of almost ten years of role-playing it evolved.

Our group gained and lost members. When one campaign ended, the next would be set a few years down the road in the same world. Heroes died, retired, and entered semi-retirement. Then in the year 2000 our group got together one last time. And boy was it an epic session. This session was the end of an era for us.

We got together all the former members of the group, 35 people in all. Over the course of a week we ran one gigantic adventure. Five game masters, thirty players. It was a truly epic adventure which ended with us struggling to save all of creation. We almost failed This final adventure let us bring all our favorite characters back for one final hurrah.

But not all our various characters were immortal. Some had died of old age by the time of this great finale. Others would be too old to participate. So for instances where the person's character couldn't be used, other characters were brought back. Some of my old characters which got pushed to the side were returned.

For example, Mister E was my first character in the campaign world, and I was playing him. But Cold Snap was my current character. So someone else took control of him. Out of the thirty heroes who participated in the final battle, only six survived. And of those six, one was so badly injured that they could never leave their personal domain or they'd die.

In the end I asked the others for permission to use the world setting as my own. And they granted it. Those who still had them, handed me their old character sheets. I still have the character sheets for every single one of those heroes. Some of the villains throughout the campaign had been lost, but that was okay.

In the end I was left richer for having known such great people. And my HU campaign setting benefits from it too. Instead of a generic world setting, I have one with a history as rich as our own. And now I'm happy to share some of this world with you guys and girls. I hope you are enjoying this sojourn into my world.

Of course, this creates a problem for anyone not intimately familiar with the world and it's champions. Anyone from the HU campaign setting needs to be established. The reader wont care about the person if they know nothing about them. So this chapter is sort of dedicated to showcasing the members of the Freedom Society.

And yes, I find Piping Hot Peroski hard to take seriously too.

Current members are

Mister E (Kevin Smith)

Powers: Immortal, variable powers due to ability to grant himself and others superhuman abilities for random durations

Streak (Jim Moor)

Powers: Superhuman durability and speed, able to run on any non-slick surface, accelerated healing

Cree (Cree is real name, goes by Alex Rivers when disguised as a human)

Powers: genius level inventor in field of weapons, expert marksman with all known types of ranged weapons, expert swordsman

Cold Snap (Sam Bricklbuster)

Powers: able to project electricity from hands, superhuman agility, able to physically transform into living ice, able to spontaneously generate ice and snow for variety of uses, extreme resistance to fire and heat

Moth (real name unknown)

Powers: Winged flight, gravity control

Amy (last name unknown)

Powers: Superhuman strength, superhuman durability, accelerated healing, advanced sense of smell, armor like skin, winged flight

Notes: Not an actual team member, more a ward of the team


	4. Spar

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

There are many types of invisibility methods. They range from psionicly convincing observers you aren't there to true invisibility, and various stages in between. And since coming to Earth Moth had seen practically all of them. She'd encountered people who bent light around their body. There had been those who were able to alter skin color to match their surroundings. Psychics who clouded the mind, and the occasional martial artist who did the same.

But this was something entirely different. That it was a martial arts technique was clear. But not the nature of this technique. It hid from normal sight, but not from thermal optics. If the method had been a mind clouding effect, no advanced vision or optical detection equipment would work. Yet this wasn't a case of actual invisibility either. If so, the security cameras wouldn't have picked anything up.

Then there was the evident shape-shifting abilities of this murderer. Abilities that appeared linked to water. Possibly a psychological trigger rather then physiological. _I feel sorry for the kid. Bioblade never really stood a chance._ She watched video of the altercation again, paying attention to the most minor of details. While security cameras hadn't been able to pick up what type of projectile the criminal used, it was clear he generated them spontaneously. And they were sharp.

After learning all she could from the fight, Moth rewound to how everything started. And what she saw made the galactic law officer angry. _So the girl is connected to all this, and turns into a boy somehow. A boy that our murderer abuses casually._ If there was one thing that Moth hated more then anything else, it was child abusers.

It was a hate most societies shared. However for her it was quite personal. After all, a cousin had died because of an abusive father. And not in a pleasant way either. Not that there are many pleasant ways to die. However being locked in a closet for three days while everyone else in the household leaves was the worst to Moth's way of thinking.

Of course her cousin had died long before the three days were up. After all, with no one to sit nearby while sleeping death was assured. Very few beings could withstand the gravity on her home planet. Not even her own people. It wasn't until Moth had entered the academy however that she learned why.

Her people had developed an instinctive control over gravity in the area surrounding themselves. But when sleeping, that natural ability shut off. And without it, surviving thirty gees of downward pull just isn't possible for most. Maybe for a short period of time, but the gravity of her home planet crushed most sentient races.

It was why Moth was one of only six people who ever left her home planet. It was why her people had only recently entered galactic politics. Only within the last twenty cycles in fact. And Moth had been the first to leave her home. So it could be forgiven if she still had some mental issues. If she still needed someone awake near her while she slept for example.

Eighteen years off world is nothing when compared to thousands of years worth of social taboo and personal tragedy. Of course having forcibly induced amnesia for three years didn't help any. It had taken a while to regain control over her abilities, even after the damnable control chip had been removed from her brain. It was rather fortunate that Moth had a noble streak which ran to the depths of her very being.

We are all a product of our experiences after all. Even having her memories stripped by a megalomaniac couldn't erase those experiences, merely suppress them.

_**XxXxX**_

_Why me?_ Sam thought as she shook her head. /"You're good kid, I'll admit that. But you ain't the fucking best. For one thing, I'm probably better."/

/"Not possible,". Ranma bragged. /"I killed a god."/

Hearing this caused Sam to chuckle. /"I doubt that. I've met several gods. And a snot nosed kid like you can't beat one, let alone kill one. Me and the others, we FOUGHT a damn god. Took a fucking month. And most of those with us died. They fucking died, and they were more fucking powerful then you. But come on 'godslayer', prove you're the best. Just try an beat me."/

The pig tailed girl grinned at the challenge. She followed her host into a large empty room. Once there the cyan haired girl bowed and dropped into a combat stance with her feet close together and both hands in front of her chest. Like greased lightning Ranma leaped forward with her foot extended. The kick connected, and Sam was knocked to the ground. In a smooth motion the champion of justice rolled to her feet.

Sam spun around, her fist heading towards Ranma's head. The pig tailed youth leaned backwards to avoid the blow. To her amazement however she felt the other girl's knuckles graze her nose. _She's good,_ Ranma thought to herself. _Maybe better then Ryoga._ Then Ranma was twisting to avoid a clawed strike from the other girl's left hand. However she was too slow to completely avoid it. Even with rolling her body to the side that had hurt.

There was no time to recover though. Sam's foot was hurtling towards the pig tailed marital artist's side in a snap kick. Ranma jumped into the air, flipping to land behind her opponent. That didn't offer any safety though. She found herself flipping through the air again to avoid being tripped by a backwards sweep kick. As Ranma landed once again she found herself twisting to avoid being punched in the stomach.

The follow up strait kick caught Ranma completely by surprise. Even as she started trying to twist out of the way the foot caught Ranma square in the stomach, hard. She allowed her body to be propelled by it backwards a foot and rolled to her feet. Already Ranma could feel a bruise forming where the foot had connected. _That's it, time ta take things to the next level. _He leaned back to avoid yet another backhand fist. _When I get a chance that is._

Ranma slipped into the soul of ice, hoping to end this quickly. As the air chilled around him the youth figured he had this in the bag. His eyes went wide and the soul of ice almost faltered when Sam held out her hands and ice batons formed in them. One of the ice batons came across in a horazontal swing which Ranma leaned back to avoid. He wasn't anywhere near fast enough to pull it off however. The impact knocked him further off balance, dumping Ranma on his rear.

/"That's enough kid."/ Sam said calmly. /"You are skilled. And I can already see you're normal tactics. But those only work when you are the faster fighter. The cold aura is interesting too. But I've seen it before."/

Without any warning Ranma launched a ball of blue energy. His smirk died as the blast sailed past Sam's rotating form. He saw a streak of bluish white, then his vision exploded in stars. As his sight cleared Ranma saw crackling electricity in the other girl's hand. Then he was jumping to the side to avoid the electric bolt. His chi senses extended, but the other didn't seem the least bit winded from the blast.

_/"_Also nothing I haven't seen before."/ Sam said with a smile. /"Still, it is impressive you can generate it using your chi and training. I've seen chi masters who can't project a concussive force with their chi. Nice trick. What style do you study?"/

Ranma stared at the other girl in shock. Until today, she'd have claimed the only ones who could (maybe) beat her were centuries old. Yet this teenage girl had not just fought Ranma to a stand still, but was easily overwhelming her. Plus she was able to generate electricity via chi... Just who was this person?

/"Listen kid, if what you tell me about yesterday is true your dad is in serious trouble. He killed someone. And that someone has a lot of friends, myself included. He will be caught. So, what do you want to do?"/

It quickly became clear that the young Saotome hadn't been paying attention the the other. /"How did you do that? I spent ten years training to be the best, and you can't be older then me."/

/"Kid, I'm thirty one fucking years old. I spent eight years studying pao pat me. And another eleven years fighting demons, monsters, invaders from other worlds and dimensions, would-be despots, muggers, and everything in between. I've stared down the gullet of a god intending to destroy everything. Compared to that, you don't even register as a threat. Maybe with real training you could take me. Or maybe not. Who knows. Anyone can get lucky once or twice. It takes real skill to repeatedly survive the kinda shit storm I deal with almost weekly."/

**Author Notes: (I'm really NOT actually trying to pad wordcount, seriously)**

How is it Ranma lost the fight? Well I do have him all statted out for Heroes Unlimited. I had to for this cross over, as well as others I'm writing where HU characters from my campaign setting show up. Remember folks, Ranma's preferred method of defense is to dodge. Which is perfectly understandable considering how much raw power guys like Ryoga put behind their attacks. But in the rules for Heroes Unlimited (and all palladium books games) dodging takes one of you're combat actions for the round UNLESS you have auto-dodge. Which has to be declared, and has a different (usually lower) bonus then standard dodging.

Most don't have auto dodge, and Ranma definitely doesn't. Even in the manga and anime he's not counter attacking while he's dodging. Instead he waits for an opening and overwhelms them with superior speed. A tactic which works great, if you are much faster then you're opponent. The problem here is that he's not that much faster then Cold Snap. In Heroes Unlimited terms, he's got exactly one attack per melee (15 seconds or so) more then Cold Snap.

The problem with this preferred tactic continues I look at his combat bonuses. He has a +5 to dodge, which is not too bad. Especially at low levels, and I have Ranma at level 4 as a physical training power category. His bonus to parry attacks though is higher. Yet he prefers to dodge instead of parry. Parrying would leave him able to counter attack, yet he doesn't do it often.

He also likes to start things off with a jump kick. This right here is the start of his mistakes in the sparring match. In Palladium Books games, a jump kick uses ALL you're actions for the combat round. And if you have no more actions for the current round, dodging barrows from you're actions during the next round. So Ranma leading off with a jump kick was actually a bad thing. Against someone like Kuno, he can easily KO them with a jump kick. Problem is he's not facing Kuno, he's facing someone who's also a world class martial artist with superhuman durability.

What do I mean by superhuman durability? Well in Palladium Books games such as Heroes Unlimited a normal person might have 15 hit points and 15 to 20 S.D.C., or Structural Damage Capacity. A jump kick does 1d8 damage is an automatic critical for x2 damage (x3 damage if you also roll a critical strike). Meaning it can do up to 24 damage with one blow. Ouch. Ranma as he's statted out has 20 hit points and 84 SDC, while Cold Snap has 52 hit points and 74 SDC.

Even so, I did actually play out the combat between them using Ranma's preferred tactics to see how things work out. While he's able to avoid most of the attacks, being unable to counter attack means eventually you will likely be defeated. Ranma badly underestimated his opponent, and got overwhelmed by superior combat skills. Considering Ranma's normal tactics, he can't win if he starts off with a jump kick against someone almost as fast as him. Against someone like Ryoga who might have 4 or 5 attacks per melee, he can win with such tactics. But not someone as fast as he is.

It's why Cologine and Happosai are better fighters then Ranma. Instead of dodging, they parry and/or counter attack. Their speed is on par with Ranma's, so it is the youth's tactical errors that prove his undoing. Every time he's beaten Happosai it's been with a sneak attack or by using a trick (such as the pictures used to pull off the dragon ascension wave). When I diced out the combat, Ranma got initiative the first round, did his typical jump kick as the opener. Then he couldn't get a single attack in for the entire second round. By which point he'd gone from 84 SDC to 18 SDC. So in thirty seconds he had been severely beaten down. For the story I decided not to have Ranma that hurt, ended the battle shortly after the second round begins.

Heck, Ranma wouldn't have gotten an attack in again without deliberately letting himself be hit (which he tries to avoid usually) till probably the seventh or eight round of combat. The fight would have been over long before then. And if he stopped dodging? He'd still have used up actions through almost the entire third round. Again, good chance he'd be defeated before he could counter-attack.

As for the dragon ascension wave (the tornado move)... That works against someone who is generating 'hot' chi. Such as from anger or lust. Of course someone who is generating a lot of heat to begin with might work too. The problem here is he's not facing someone who's enraged. He's facing someone who's calm and focused. Despite the language, Cold Snap is not a berserker. Just rude as hell. It also kind of requires you to be able ta avoid being knocked out of the spiral you're self. A tricky feat when you are being overwhelmed by someone faster then you are, and potentially more skilled to boot.

I didn't forget about the chestnut fist either. He flat out didn't get the opening needed. I am treating his chestnut fist as the Physical Training power punch. Which means if you were to RP the fight in heroes unlimited it requires two actions to use, and does double damage (so 2d4x2). On a critical (natural 20) it would do x3 damage. This power punch in game rules can also do normal damage even to someone who is invulnerable. Meaning that it ignores armor rating for damage purposes. A potentially devastating maneuver, if you have the time to try.

This fits in with canon for Ranma too. Ryoga's breaking point training would basically give him a natural armor rating, meaning any attack roll has to beat his armor rating to actually hurt him. Ranma's been known to use the chestnut fist to bypass Ryoga's near invulnerability by punching the same spot multiple times within a second. Thus it can bypass armor rating.

In a world without superhumans, super spies, and super martial artists Ranma would probably be 'the best'. But it's doubtful even in his world he is the absolute best. He's just not met someone he can't beat yet. Well, he has in Herb as I understand it, but he still managed to come up with something to win. In a world with superheroes and super martial artists though he's nothing special. His ten year training trip is nothing really. Any truly serious martial arts master will have devoted years to studying the art.

Using Ninjas & Superspies as a basis, the training trip was enough to make Ranma a level 1 dedicated martial artist with an exclusive style which counts as two choices. A style which favors tactics that aren't really the best possible. What makes Anything Goes 'nearly unbeatable' in canon is it's versatility and adaptability. That, and Ranma's extreme learning curve. Every style though has it's flaws. Ranma's flaw is that he relies too much on the speed advantage and aerial attacks.

In heroes unlimited terms, the ten year training trip was just enough to make Ranma a level 1 physical training character with the 'speed and agility' focus and 'aggressive and deadly' style. To represent his chi blast I gave him Energy Projection-Energy as a super power, with the flaw it costs 1 chi for every 2d6 damage a blast deals. At level four he can deal up to 5d6 damage with it, or as little as 1d6 damage. With 19 chi, he could fire up to 19 blasts. Fewer if he wants them more powerful.

Just for fun, here's the combat log for the battle I diced out. It wasn't till the second round that Ranma REALLY started getting beaten down. Mostly cause by that point he starts failing the 'roll with impact' save. The only hit Ranma got in DID hurt a lot. But after that he was too busy dodging as is his wont.

Ranma: 8 attacks per melee, 18/84 SDC

Cold Snap: 7 attacks per melee, 58/74 SDC

Round One: Ranma init 12, Cold Snap init 6

attack sequence

1. Ranma- jump kick (attack roll 18 modified), Cold Snap defense-auto dodge (11 modified), 16 damage

Cold Snap-backhand (attack roll 14 modified), Ranma defense-dodge (14 modified)

2. Ranma- na

Cold Snap- claw hand (attack roll 16 modified), Ranma defense-dodge (11 modified), 6 damage

3. Ranma- na

Cold Snap- snap kick (attack roll 18 modified), Ranma Defense-dodge (23 modified)

4. Ranma-na

Cold Snap- backwards sweep (9 modified), Ranma defense-dodge (24 modified)

5. Ranma-na

Cold Snap- strait punch (attack roll 8 modified), Ranma Defense-dodge (14 modified)

6. Ranma-na

Cold Snap- strait kick (attack roll 23 natural 18), Ranma Defense-dodge (natural 1), 8 damage

-na

Cold Snap- backhand (attack roll 14), Ranma Defense-dodge (21 modified)

Round Two: Ranma init 16, Cold Snap init 14

1. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- generate twin batons of ice

2. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- strike with baton (attack roll 17 modified), Ranma defense-dodge, 5 damage

3. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap-baton strike, ranma defense-dodge hit 12 damage

4. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- baton strike, ranma defense-dodge hit 11 damage

5. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- baton strike, ranma defense-dodge 4 damage

6. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- baton strike, ranma defense-dodge 8 damage

7. Ranma-dodged

Cold Snap- baton strike, ranma defense-dodge 6 damage

8. Ranma-dodged

Round Three (not started yet)

1. ranma-dodged

2. ranma dodged

3. ranma-dodged

4. ranma-dodged

5. ranma dodged

6. ranma-dodged

7.

8.


	5. Choices

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Genma Saotome was not having a good day. He was in a strange land. There were people with abilities he couldn't even begin to quantify after him. Heck, the previous day he'd been attacked by a loon dressed as a giant hot dog! And now here was this girl like creature attacking him over and over. He'd seen the hunger in those eyes. Watched as drool dripped from her mouth and she licked her lips.

Granted, currently he was a panda. But that didn't excuse this creature from trying to eat him. Even that bug like thing that attacked him yesterday hadn't been this hard to put down. For the thirtieth time in a row he threw the creature into a tree with all his strength. And again she got back up. He'd tried using vacuum blades to kill it. Yet that hadn't worked anywhere near as well as he'd hoped.

Most had impacted harmlessly. And already he could see the few cuts that had been made closing. The creature had to be an oni of some kind. It's skin and hair was very glass like. He could partly see through her. And every time sunlight struck the creature, it was refracted as a prismatic rainbow. A fact which made it harder to fight the creature. After all, it was attacking with the sun behind it.

And she, no it, was freakishly strong. _Ka-chink! _The sound came from the right. There stood a man holding a pistol. Which he had trained on Genma. The man was rather tall and wore a silver body suit. He had no hair what so ever. Then there was the man's skin. It was green. _Now what?_ The panda-man thought to himself. Before he could even think of forming a sign Genma threw the annoying girl creature into another tree.

"Genma Saotome, I suggest you surrender peacefully. And no Amy, you can't eat the bear."

When the panda held up a sign with Japanese kanji on it, Cree just scowled. While translators could help with language barriers, they did nothing for written language. The very fact the panda had pulled a sign out of no where though, that was evidence it was not a normal bear. Even if the martial arts hadn't been a big clue.

The girl whined upon being told she couldn't eat this one. The green man was higher in the pack's hierarchy then her after all. "One bite?" She asked hopefully.

"No Amy, no bite. I'll make you a big juicy stake later. How's that sound?" He then fired a warning shot just above the panda's right shoulder, aiming close enough the bullet would be felt passing by. "Yes, I know who you are. The others may not, yet. But I make it a habit to study files on criminals like you."

Cree was entirely unprepared when the panda vanished from sight. Even the feral girl seemed confused by it. She kept sniffing the air as she searched. After all, he'd not expected to deal with someone capable of invisibility at the moment. Nor did he have most of his arsenal. Or any of it really. Just the two pistols he'd brought. Cautiously he holstered the pistol once more.

Beyond that the alien mercenary didn't drop his guard. He didn't dare to. Not with a foe who may still be around. That caution proved deserved when he heard something big moving through the bushes. Since the grounds had no large animals, and Amy was nearby, Cree assessed that the invisible panda was probably the cause. He threw himself to the side, knocking Amy down too. At the same time the mercenary fired five bullets in the direction the noise came from.

Something unseen struck a tree behind where Cree had been standing, leaving a deep gash. Then a loud animistic grunt. A thud next was heard. Seconds later the panda appeared laying on the ground. It was half in the bush. Several crimson spots were forming on it's fur. He reached for the radio in his belt, then paused.

"No Amy, not food. Not food, no eat." Cree retrieved his radio and called the mansion. "This is Cree, I have Amy with me. As well as someone we've all been wanting to find. I'm in quadrant zeta four of the estate. Bring a first aid kit, and some hot water."

_**XxXxX**_

Detective Jim Moor walked into the precinct and looked around. He'd been a New York cop for a long time now. Almost twenty years in fact. Working homicide could wear on a person. Even the best eventually became jaded. Moor was not exactly the best. He was good however. He had to be considering how weird his cases tended to become. As detective Moor and his partner often joked to the media, they were NYC's equivilent to the X-Files section of the FBI.

Such as the reason he was called in today. Ten minutes ago he'd been on monitor duty at the Freedom Mansion. And now? Now he was staring at the most bizarre murder scene in his career. Standing outside of the station house was all on duty officers. Yet here they were too, laying dead in the hallways and offices of the building. _Either the people outside are imposters, or something really weird is happening._

The man pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and knelt by one of the bodies. When he turned the woman over Jim's eyes narrowed. Across her stomach was what appeared to be a sword slash. _Width of blade is about quarter inch. Single edge if I don't miss my guess. Really sharp too. And by the discoloration of the wound, I'd say probably a magic blade at that. No chips or other trace materials left behind supports the magic hypothesis._

Jim continued to examine the precinct house for over an hour. What he found was disturbing. No finger prints had been left behind. Not even by people who worked in the building daily. He'd estimated the size of the attacker to be roughly seven feet tall. And the wounds were consistent in style. Likely only one attacker. The only foreign object in the building was a single white hair. This he bagged to have tested. On a hunch he also collected a sample from two different bodies for testing too.

_I've been doing this too long. Twenty years now, and still the crazy stuff like this keeps happening. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it. Sure I'm at the top of my game. But honestly? It's been getting harder and harder to put on the suit since Apsu. Moth rarely leaves the mansion anymore. I can see the horror in her eyes every time we talk. If it wasn't for the girl, I bet Moth would have returned home years ago. Maybe it's finally time for 'The Streak' to retire. Let someone younger continue the eternal battle. Maybe I'll transfer to a nice quiet small town in the countryside._

"Yeah, I definitely think this will be my last time."

_**XxXxX**_

This was her home. Had been her home for over six hundred years in fact. It was not a place many would chose to stay in, but many visited. The woman had forgotten her name long ago. Her name was unimportant. Over the centuries she'd used many different names. The most recent one was Dream Chyld. The woman had been a messenger of the gods once. She'd spent a decade as a champion of justice. Even now she still counted herself among the best of them.

But she could no longer leave her home. Some says she forgot why. Other days she misremembered the reason. At times she actually thought herself a goddess, or at least the avatar of one. Today was one of her more lucid days. Today she knew who she is, and what she is. She is Dream Chyld, member of the Freedom Society since the 1950's. She is mortal, yet unaging due to her home. She is a master manipulator of the dream world.

Most importantly, Dream Chyld was scared. It is said dreams are a window into the future. And in part it was true. The things Chyld had seen in her wanderings of late spoke of dark and ruinous plans. Something bad was coming, and this time all she could do was warn. Ever since they had done battle with a mad god she'd been unable to leave the dream world. To do so meant certain death for her.

"So Enki," the short Japanese woman asked, "What can you tell me about things on earth? I know something bad will happen, and soon. But other then that I keep running into a furry wall."

Enki, the god of magic according to Babylonians. He really was a god. Maybe not the way some religions on earth thought of them. But a god none the less. A master of all magics. Nay, grandmaster at least. It was he that had helped the Society stop his father. Even then he'd been unable to fight directly. They had to weaken Apsu enough for the spell to work. And protect Enki at the same time. A brutal war which had left many good men and women dead.

"A furry wall?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chyld sighed. "Yes, every evening for the last week I've been drawn to the dreams of either a boy or girl. Those dreams are haunted by monstrous cats and dark pits. Whoever they are, I feel sorry for those two."

Enki chuckled at her description. "Ah, the Saotome boy. A sad tale if ever there was one. More curses then any mortal should be able to survive. Yet still her preservers. Not too long ago he faced a godling in mortal combat."

"A godling? What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Sometimes the children of gods aren't as powerful as their parents. While demi-gods are half human, godlings are at most a quarter human. Compared to you mortals, they are quite powerful. For a lone human to have defeated Saffron without aid nor magic was quite the feat."

"What about my original question?"

"Sadly, I can tell you nothing. The Saotome boy is important, but I cannot say how. But I wonder, would you be willing to guide Bast to see him?"

"I suppose," Chyld said with a frown. She wasn't sure how a cat god was going to be much good. That boy was clearly terrified of cats.

**Author Notes:**

Wow, a week or so with no inspiration to continue the fourth chapter. And now I'm knocking out a fifth one on the same day I published chapter 4. As you can tell from this one, Ranma will be taking more of a role as things progress. But primarily this is a story about the Freedom Society. I'm not entirely sure how Ranma will fit into events yet. But it sure will be interesting to find out.


	6. Shattered Confidance Ranma POV

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

I lost. No, not just lost, but I lost badly. This is the second time in three days that's happened. The first time was to this cute girl with blue hair. And now it was some man with blue hair. Older brother or father, I'm not sure. What makes this time so much worse is that the man was clumsy as heck. He can barely walk three steps unless focusing on it. Yet he beat me so easily that I may as well have not trained in my family's style.

I'm the best, I know I am. So why is a clumsy oaf able to humiliate me so? It makes no sense. I've beaten a god. I'm Saotome Ranma, the best martial artist of my generation. Probably the best in the world. And yet twice now I've been treated like a rank amateur. I just don't get it. How could this have happened? Am I really that unskilled? Or is it my family style? I've heard over and over my style is nearly unbeatable. And until this week I'd had plenty of evidence that it's true. Now, I'm starting to wonder.

I also am wondering about my father. He's the definition of dishonor. Always selling me off to feed his belly. Running from his obligations and dumping all his problems on my head. After all the crap he's put me through 'for the sake of the art', I should hate him. But he's my father and I can't hate him. Disrespect him, yes. He hasn't earned any respect. But I can't hate him. Not even after the stunt with a magic lamp. I mean, geez! You'd have thought he'd figure out wishes never go as intended after all the magic that's been used against me.

Do I love him? I'm not sure. He's my dad, and he's been my only constant companion for ten years. But love, that's something I don't know much about. Unless it's martial arts I'm not good at most things. Blame that on my father. I do, and it's accurate. I've barely had any schooling. Anything not martial arts he deemed a distraction, and kept away from me. And he did it for so long I can't focus on most tasks unless it's in the frame work of martial arts.

You'd be surprised how many things are a martial art though. I constantly am. From martial arts ball room dancing to martial arts fine dining, I've seen it all. I've learned figure skating, dancing, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and countless other things all due to martial arts challenges. That's another thing about my family style. We aren't allowed to decline any challenges to our art.

And now I'm alone. For the first time in my life, father isn't here. He's on the run, again. He killed someone. Someone who apparently is kind of famous. The news keeps talking about the mysterious shape shifter that killed a known 'hero' named Bioblade. Even with how poor quality the video was, I recognized my dad. I'm not sure what to think about all this now. He always taught me it's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak. And yet now he's going around killing people.

He put several others in a hospital recently too. Including that green skinned man. Not sure what his name is. The man is rather tall. He also seems to be a friend to my new sensei. Bricklbuster-San was really upset when she learned what had happened. Guess I don't blame her either. Finding out a panda had put your friend in a coma is never a good thing. That weird girl was also badly hurt by father. Never saw anyone recover quite that fast. Within an hour she went from nearly dead to almost fully healed. Wish I could do that.

Sensei has another friend coming in a few days to spar with me. Once I'd have been sure this person would be no challenge. But now I'm actually worried. What if the last two spars hadn't been flukes. What if I'm not the best. Sensei tells me a ten year training period is normal. That any dedicated martial artist has spent at least eight years studying their style. What if instead of being the best, I'm merely average?

This fear only grew when Sensei demonstrated that my ability to use chi isn't all that special. She can vanish from plain sight using her chi. And not the way Father taught me to do so ether. It's as if she just vanished into thin air. The snap kick to the back of my head being all the proof Sensei hadn't actually left I needed. But if I'm not the best, then what am I? What was the point of the training journey if I'm not the best? My worries wont go away no matter how hard I try forcing the issue.

_**XxXxX**_

Well, today's the day. Not sure how I feel about this match. I'm told by Sensei that this person is an old friend and sometime ally. He looks like a complete loon. I mean, what's with the green outfit? And that mask looks ridiculous too. That cape is a serious weak point too. If he fights in that outfit, how's he still alive? He bows towards me and enters a stance I don't recognize.

I bow in return, after all this isn't like when Ryoga or the others ambush me. This is an honorable challenge. When I stand my legs propel me into the air. With a graceful flip I bring my foot down with the intent of planting it on this goofball's face. To my surprise he starts to rotate his entire body. His right arm windmills, catching my shin and pushing it to the side. My surprise is so great that I almost didn't notice the man's other hand coming towards my stomach in a palm strike.

I lean backwards to avoid it, only to find myself having to jump to the side. Damn this guy's fast. And what's with all that spinning? I barely saw him trying to sweep my legs out from under me. When I get to my feet again I witness the most unusual thing ever. This guy's not even stopping that annoying spin. After that leg sweep he's standing, the same foot now heading towards my face. How does he do that?

I lean to the side, only to have to contort again. This freak is crazy! That damn rotation hasn't even stopped, and already he's bringing a fist in to try backhanding me. Without warning the idiot then, and I'm not sure how exactly to describe it, but he sort of fell/flipped/rolled back ten feet. Which was a good thing. I was starting to get a bit winded. This guy's nearly as fast as Sensei.

That's when I sense something really odd. My opponent is standing before me. But my chi senses tell me there's two people fighting me. To my shock he then lifts a few inches into the air. I don't sense any chi being used. What the heck is going on? That isn't like when Herb started flying. Or Saffron either. This guy is just hovering in the air like it's the most natural thing in the world.

"What are you waiting for?" He asks me.

This guy, he's a lot more dangerous then I'd initially thought. And he's just busted out special techniques. Time to use my own then. I draw my hands together, and launch a sphere of pure concussive chi. Not sure how much raw power is behind it though. Already I can feel my confidence is shaken. It certainly looks powerful. One of the biggest I've generated so far.

And this guy merely waves a hand in a circle. My jaw drops as the chi ball disburses without any visible effect as it strikes the other guy's hand. What just happened? I seriously don't get it. Oh shit, now he's flying towards me. Why's his body spinning in a horizontal axis? Crap, foot coming towards face! I lean to the left to avoid it! Wait, where'd that palm come fro...

I come to laying on the ground. And man does my head hurt. The green clad fruit cake is standing nearby chatting with Sensei. What hit me anyway? The last few minutes are kind of hazy. This is the third time this week I've lost. Is everyone here better then me? This is getting crazy.


	7. A word from the Author

Still working on the next chapter, but I felt I should address this while working on it.

Your right Demodragon, palladium rules do hinder Ranma's fighting style to a degree. But more then that, it's his usual tactics which hinder him the most. Those tactics are typically "Dodge until I find an opening, then end the fight instantly". And the creator has said Ranma is the best fighter *in Nerima*. But that he likely wouldn't be very good fighting someone who uses a traditional martial arts style. His usual opponants rely on one or two special techniques. And after Ranma learned a few, so did he. A fact which would make him overall a weaker fighter.

If Ranma in palladium has 8 attacks per melee, I'd probably guess Ryoga would have 4 or 5 attacks. Ryoga however tends to use a lot of power blows, cutting him down to 2 attacks per melee. Ukyo might have 5 or 6 attacks per melee from what her first appearance indicates. And she did keep Ranma on the defensive for a while. Kuno I'd guess has only 2 attacks per melee maybe 3, which he almost always uses in his trademark thrusting technique (I strike I strike I strike). The people Ranma has the most trouble with are the ones who don't rely on 1 or 2 special moves, but fight in hand to hand using basic maneuvers.

Really, his style favors surprise attacks (good explination why he recovers from a jump kick fast enough to fight) and being faster then his opponant. But what happens when his opponant is equally fast? Or uses more sensible battle tactics? A typical fight for Ranma might involve him using a jump kick (entire round attack), then borrowing an attack from the next round to dodge Mousse's projectile barrage. Mousse just used most of his actions for the round, so on to round two. Or Ryoga starts off with a surprise power attack (2 actions) which Ranma dodges. The fight then goes from there. Kuno is usually dropped by that first jump kick. And if he gets the surprise attack, Happosai is typically defeated with one jump kick.

Taido is considered a rather strong style in it's self too. While Ranma considers the Saotome branch of anything goes to be an aerial style, Taido is arguably a true aerial style. Nearly every attack and defense involves leaving the ground at some point. It's so new it's possible Genma never heard of it, thus Ranma didn't either. Cold Snap uses lepard style kung fu, which is a very brutal style. And since Ranma isn't that much faster then Cold Snap, he'd take longer to recover if his opponant goes on the offensive. No openings cause he's too busy dodging attacks.

That's not to say Ranma's inferior in combat to anyone he's currently meeting. Just that he has some really bad habits which he's now learning are bad habits. He's also learning he's not the best in the world, which was a self claim. Ranma's combat bonuses after I statted him out came out pretty accurate for what he's depicted as. And pure combat stat wise, he's on par with several high level heroes he's met. He just isn't as great a fighter as he always thought. Mostly due to bad tactical choices.

Also, I'd consider Saffron to be a godling at most in Palladium terms. Difficult for a human to defeat, nearly impossible, but a skilled enough foe could do it. The Freedom Society however fought an actual god. Apsu in fact. And they managed to defeat Apsu by weakening him enough for Enki to recast the spell that imprisons Apsu. They didn't do so without cost though. Over 30 of the world's most powerful and/or skilled heroes started the fight. Only five limped away, with a sixth member so badly hurt she can never leave the sub-dimension she calls home or she'll die.

Ranma is just finding out there's more to martial arts then special techniques. A fact which is giving his ego a serious beating for sure. But I imagine he'll come out stronger in the end. He says his ten year training journey is why he's the best. BUt in reality any SERIOUS martial artist will have likely spent 7 to 10 years learning their art.

Also keep in mind, the saotome branch of Anything Goes as tought to Ranma combines the 'best' elements of other styles while removing the 'worst' elements. But as he started learning this way Ranma was only five years old. He was only a child when he combined the 'best' parts of various styles. He may not have picked the best elements, or may have ignored the flaws in what he did pick up. And since his concept of what to keep and what to throw away began when he was five, he likely still uses the same flawed ideas. And due to not facing anyone who he can't beat using his flawed style and tactics, Ranma never learned he does have flaws in how he fights.

But again, Ranma isn't as bad at martial arts as he's being made to look. Just using bad tactics he's not realized yet are bad tactics. The next chapter will actually show some of his strengths. As well as deal with WHY he's been losing the sparing matches. It's quite possible that Genma Saotome deliberately trained Ranma with major holes in his style. After all, he'd want a way to control his meal ticket. While Genma uses the same style as Ranma, when I describe fights involving him there'll be a stark difference between how he fights, and how Ranma fights. Especially when Genma gets serious. He too has flaws in his style, but they aren't as big.


	8. Shocking Developments Cold Snap POV

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

The kid's good. I'll give him that. And against anyone with equally flawed combat tactics, he'd probably win hands down. But I can see several problems in how he fights. And since the kid keeps using the same flawed tactics, he must not see what he's doing wrong. It's a shame really. Whoever trained this kid obviously made sure he has easily exploitable weaknesses. He's fast enough to usually recover from his mistakes though. I'll grant him that.

I kind of feel sorry for him. It's not easy finding out you aren't as good as you thought. It's odd though. I know this kid is actually a boy, and apparently suffers the same kind of transforming curse as me. Yet he never returns to his birth form. Now me, I have a good reason not to. For one thing, I can actually walk like this. Man that feels good. Then there's the whole melting thing. I hate it, and in my 'cursed' form it's not a worry. But what's his story?

Then there's the language barrier. He still can't really speak English, and I'm the only one who can speak Japanese with any skill. So here I am, babysitting a highly skilled martial artist... who's at the same time easy to defeat by anyone with actual training. And I have to wonder how I got myself into this mess. If I'm honest with myself, this kid reminds me a bit of myself at that age.

/"Whenever your ready, come at me however you want."/ I instruct him after transforming into my ice form.

I note the kid's surprise is short lived. Impressive to say the least. As far as my knowledge goes, Japan has few metahumans. And the few that do exist, are kept quiet. There might be a dozen metas total in the country at any given moment. Yet the kid takes my gifts in stride. When he jumps into the air, I have to stifle a groan. Instead I catch his foot and redirect the idiot so he slams into the ground. Gotta admit, he's durable as hell.

/"You have good reflexes, probably equal to several grand masters I know. So why do you waste your abilities with jump kicks?"/ I ask my reluctant studant.

/"The Saotome branch is mainly an aerial style."/ He tells me.

With a groan I respond /"No, it isn't. Who ever told you that deliberately mislead you. When you execute a jump kick, you leave your self wide open. But fine, I'll let you demonstrate how 'aerial' your style is."/

This time when she jumps at me, I don't deflect the kid. Instead I brace myself and block the flying kick. My respect for the kid's skills goes up a notch when she uses the force of impact to propel herself higher into the air. I jump into the air, launching a casual strait punch. Not even using my full strength. Instead I'm testing his style. What follows amazes me. Maybe he's right about his style being aerial in nature.

I'd never seen someone use the force of their blows to stay in the air. Let alone being able to dodge mid-air. Still, I can see several flaws that are easy to exploit. And any skilled fighter would likely notice them too. He's trading most of his speed and agility to stay in the air. Not to mention how easy it is to disrupt his aerial combat. I gotta say though, that technique he's got would be very useful against fliers. Especially once he breaks those bad habits.

After almost an hour I call a stop to the spar. /"What you were doing is impressive, kid. Damn impressive at that. But it's not that fucking effective. It's easy to counter. If you can't land a damn punch or kick it's ended. Your a god damn one trick pony."/

/"Whatcha mean?"/ He demands.

/"Just that, kid. You rely too much on special techniques. Special techniques are good, and many world class fighters have them. But they aren't a god damn replacement for actual skill. Who ever taught you seriously neglected in your training."/

I'm pretty sure he didn't really understand anything I told him. So I set up a simulation in the Society's training room. It's one I use regularly for combat training. No real small arms, although there are a few grunts with rocket launchers. For the most part it's just a few dozen combatants with melee weapons. The danger level I set to low. That way it'll just stun him if overwhelmed. Normally I set it to be hyper realistic. Non-fatal, but still injury inducing.

"All right kid, try your best. And don't worry about if you fail. This is my personal training program I'm starting up."

The kid did try his best. Or at least what he thought was his best. Which showed me another weak point in his training. Namely that he'd been trained to only fight single opponent. Which isn't exactly a bad way to be trained. But it does leave you open when facing several attackers. Three or four, he seems to handle easily enough. But any more then that and I notice it gets dicey. Ten or more, and he's slowly being overwhelmed.

I notice the kid's leading the group in a large spiral now. And I have no freaking idea why. I also notice it's starting to get rather cold in the chamber. Then the kid does something that absolutely stuns me. He creates a damn tornado in the middle of the training room. That I wasn't expecting. Projecting his life energy as a concussive blast? Okay, I've seen similar. Throwing over sixty punches in the space of a couple seconds? Been there, done that. And I have eight of the damn T-shirts. But a tornado? How the hell did he pull that off?

With the equipment trashed, the simulation naturally is ended. A shame too. I'm now interested in just how the kid pulled that stunt off. I'm shaking my head as I reenter the room. /"All right kid, that's enough for today. I need to call in a repair tech for the training room now. That was an interesting move you did. Care to explain?"/

I start leading her towards the dining room, waiting for an answer. Being told it's 'just something picked up from an amazon' though causes me to raise an eyebrow. This kid implies the tornado was created using pure training. Which isn't possible. Is it? But then again, I turn into living ice and throw electricity. I have a friend who was thirty years old... back in 1938, yet still looks to be in his mid-thirties. I also regularly work with two aliens. So who am I to say what's impossible.

While we eat I consider what to do with this kid. Can't leave Ranma here. Can't send him home with Jim either. Most of the team actually lives at the mansion. Me and Jim are the only ones who don't. I also have to head home within the next day or two. Been keeping an eye on the news, and trouble is brewing in my home town. As I see it, Kevin and Moth will continue the hunt for that damn panda-man. As well as almost every other hero in the state.

/"Hey kid, got a question for you."/ I tell him.

/"What is it Sensei?"/ is his reply.

/"How would you like to move in with me for now? It'll get you out of danger for a while, and maybe I can continue teaching you."/

I can see her thinking it over. The kid must be smart. And yet, it's equally clear her intelligence is rarely used. I can almost see smoke coming from her ears. And I decide this is a prime moment to reveal that I too am cursed. As I tip some of my tea onto my head I watch Ranma's eyes go wide. Geez, doesn't this kid pay attention? Guess not. Not unless it's martial arts apparently.

/"Yes, I too have a gender curse. Picked it up a few weeks ago while chasing a terrorist wearing a yellow bandana with black spots. Why don't you return to your birth gender once in a while?"/

His answer startles me. /"I can't, it makes me helpless now. Stupid panda."/

Not sure what she means, I decide to press for more information. /"Exactly how does it 'make you helpless'? After all, you are a skilled fighter. Once you break some bad habits, you would be quite formidable. Especially with some of your more exotic techniques."/

Can't say I'd heard of any wishing lamps before now. Oh sure, I'd heard the stories about some shmuck who gets one to three wishes, and they all backfire due to poor wording or ill thought out desires. But I'd thought it just that, stories. Discovering this kid has encountered several wish granting objects, that chills my blood. The more I learn about Ranma, the more concerned I get. And the more convinced I become he needs serious help.

At least some of that help can be acquired back in Dubuque. I know I know of a doctor who specializes in some of the more esoteric maladies. Be it possession, curses, or just a broken rib. Doc is the person I'd trust more then anyone else for medical needs. In part because he only handles meta-human medicine. But then again, he's also saved my life a time or three. If anyone can figure out what's wrong, Doc probably can.

/"Right then, I'll set up an appointment for you with a specialist I know for next Friday. Oh, and grab a jacket. While the guest rooms are heated in my place, the rest of the house is kept at two below zero."/

**Author Notes:**

Defies physics to dodge mid-air? Why yes, yes it does. But Ranma is shown to be capable of it. Here is a chance where Ranma can show what he's really good at. I decided that _when mid-air_ and _not preforming a jump _kick that Ranma has auto dodge. He can also fight effectively in the air, using his blows to stay off the ground. Thus retaining half his attacks per melee. The other half are used to retain his airborn status. The stipulation against jump kicks is important. A jump kick by the rules uses ALL your actions for the round. A combat round in Palladium for those not aware of it is 15 seconds long.

That's not to say he suddenly lacks the flaws in his personal combat style. He has to continuously connect, or be hit to remain airborn. If his opponent dodges then Ranma likely will return to the ground. Similarly, if his opponant grabs Ranma and throws him it's "kiss aerial combat goodbye" time. Cold Snap deliberately gave him a chance to demonstrate what he can do though, instead of ruthlessly taking advantage of mistakes and shutting him down like the previous two sparring sessions.

I could say "I'm the author so this fight will go this way", and be perfectly right to do so. And I have been at times. Genma's fights so far have been done that way. As will Ranma's battles later. But for now I decided to give him a fair shot. Since his combat bonuses as statted are so similar to his teacher and opponents, I diced out the sparing matches for Ranma. That way if he wins, it was by his actual skill. While dicing them out, I used the anime and manga as reference points for how he fights.

For the sparing match in chapter 6, it's interesting to note that while Ranma was on the defensive for the first two rounds, he had recovered fully. In fact, his opponent backing away let Ranma recover from his mistake. Thus the fight would have been on more even footing. In fact, Ranma had an advantage going into the third round. He could afford to dodge every single attack, and still match his opponent in attacks per round. He probably could have won that match.

So what happened? Pure dumb luck, that's what. A natural 20 for the second attack roll made for the spinning leap attack. A combination kick/palm strike/simultaneous automatic parry. And since one physical skill is Boxing, that means an auto knockout/stun in addition to critical hit (for x3 damage) on the palm strike. Thus a lucky blow won the sparring match, when Ranma would otherwise have worn down his opponent due to being more durable and faster.

Some might wonder too how Ranma's chi blast got negated so easily. While Ranma has learned a chi blast, he was facing a chi master. Someone who can and does defend themselves against chi attacks periodically. And in all honesty, ranma's chi blast is much easier to defend against then a negative chi attack.

Others may disagree with my take on Ranma's skill level. But as I see it, he's not this unstoppable martial arts machine. He's extremely skilled but with serious flaws in his fighting style. My take on it is Ranma has more raw power then actual skill. So any foe who uses pure skill would hold their own, or toss him around. After all, what does it matter if you can shatter boulders if your fist is constantly being redirected?

For his durability, he does have superhuman levels of durability. And I'm giving him an AR of 15 specifically for piercing attacks such as guns, energy blasts, and environmental damage. Why? He's been shown to be hit by a blast which knocks him backwards and destroys large stone statues... with barely a scratch. An impact which should have seriously hurt him, at least. Knowing how to take a hit is one thing. But knowing how to shatter stone with your back and not be hurt, that's something totally different.

For Palladium fans, yes this would make his natural AR for projectile attacks and environmental damage better in some respects then the martial arts power that gives AR. For one, Ranma treats it as 'always on' thus no activation cost. It also is the reverse of the martial arts power in N&SS. While bullets and energy attacks stand a good chance of not hurting him (cosmetic damage only), a sword or bow would be quite effective.


	9. Bringing Charges Moth POV

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Sometimes I wonder why I don't just head home. There's a lot of painful memories in this place. Goddess, this entire world has painful memories. I was just a rookie, strait out of the academy when they assigned me to this sector. There was no way I was ready for it. I was just barely getting use to being away from home, and they saddled me with that much responsibility. I don't blame anyone though.

The GP is notoriously understaffed considering our jurisdiction. After all, the galaxy is an awfully big place to patrol. There might be only one or two patrol officers assigned to any given sector. And detectives are always on duty. Always working three or more cases. At least the skilled ones are. Then there's _her_. To this day I'm not sure how that woman became a detective first class. I'm not even sure how she graduated the academy.

It's not easy being the first from your planet to enter galactic civilization. Of course, for my people it's even harder. My home world has naturally high gravity. Almost fifty times that of the earth's gravity in fact. Of course, back home we didn't know this. All we knew was that fallng asleep with no one awake within twenty feet of you was suicide. No one questioned this. Or why things appeared heavier outside of towns then inside them.

Goods got constructed sturdy enough to withstand the forces our scientists had noticed. But no one ever thought to question why we only get crushed when sleeping without anyone around. Who would think to ask those questions? Everyone knows gravity is a constant. Except with my people it isn't. While I didn't know it back then, my people have the innate ability to manipulate gravity. A trait which I guess developed at some point as a survival mechanism. After all, we do descend from a native insect.

For us, standing on a planet with fifty gees of gravity feels the same as an earthling standing on earth. It was only after I left my home world that I discovered why. Namely the fact that my people are constantly lowering the gravity in a twenty foot radius by forty-nine gees. I also learned that no, our gift doesn't stack with it's self. Three people from my planet do not reduce gravity by any more then a combined total of forty-nine gees.

I also learned this is a limit we can't surpass either. While I can raise or lower gravity in an area, the limit is by plus or minus forty-nine. Which is still rather impressive when you think about it. Not many races can do that innately. In fact, most races from high gravity planets tend to go down a completely different evolutionary path. Normally it entails them being short, wide, really strong, and incredibly durable.

But that's neither here nor there. I guess I wax philosophical in my old age. Sometimes I do wonder why I haven't gone home yet. It would be easy. No one would have blamed me after my first tour of duty. Not after being captured by a local criminal and brain washed. It's not one of my prouder memories. My first week on duty, and I got shot down by some pirates. Then when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. Not even my name.

Still don't know who I am. I can remember growing up, but no names. Moth isn't a name, it's a nickname. It's what everyone at the academy called me as a joke. Officer Moth my badge read, the person who issued it also playing a prank. So Officer Moth I am. Maybe if I went home someone could tell me what my name is. So why don't I? I guess it's a good question. One I ask myself more and more. And I still don't have a good answer.

Ten earth years ago I lost a lot of friends, and nearly died. Sometimes I still wake up screaming. That inky darkness haunts me to this day. It's gotten to the point where I'm afraid of the dark. I rarely leave the mansion these days. It usually takes something that threatens the entire planet to draw me out. But this, this I do for another reason. After witnessing the after effects of child abuse, I can't stay secluded in the monitor room any more.

Maybe when it's all over I'll go home. But before that happens, I have a child abuser to find. The neko-ken is one of the universe's worst crimes. It originated as one planet's defense plan against felineoid invaders. But it's original purpose has long been forgotten by the public. How the information found it's way to Earth I have no idea. But even this planet has learned the horror of that weapon. Yet one man has designed to subject a child to the neko-ken.

For that alone, this Genma Saotome needs to be brought in to justice. But it's not his only crime by any stretch of the imagination. He's a con-man and a thief. Now he's also a murderer. But most of his crimes are local affairs. They don't concern me as much as everyone thinks they do. I'd help bring the man in either way, but local crimes aren't usually enough to draw me out of seclusion these days.

So here I am, sitting across a table from some human hatchling in the nation called Japan. The others don't know where I am. It's as I prefer. This isn't for local law enforcement. This is for something much grander. They wouldn't understand. Well, maybe Jim would. He's also a cop. I can't read the local language, not a surprise there. Universal translators do nothing for written word. And I've spent more time in America then the other nations of this world.

"You realize I trust that withholding evidence is not just a local crime, do you not Tendo-San?" I ask her.

I'm speaking my native language. But this girl doesn't know it. My translator works to interpret my words in my own voice for her as I speak. Similarly it translates her language to mine. And I am not amused. I came here regarding information on one Ranma Saotome and one Genma Saotome. Information which could help track down a criminal. But this hatchling would try blackmailing a law officer. She expects bribes for the information, and further bribes to keep her from selling information of my interest to others.

"And do you realize the court I represent doesn't put much stock in a trial by one's peers?"

The Tendo hatchling visibly blanches at my words. Still she tries to extort money out of me. "Without my help, you wont find any information. And my help doesn't come cheap."

My smile is warm, but humorless. "Let me explain it another way Tendo-San. I am Officer Moth of the galactic police. I am investigating the murder of Ayra and Yosima Masaki, and the kidnapping as well as torture of their newborn son Ranma Masaki, now known as Ranma Saotome. You have information which may lead to the arrest of my primary suspect. If you don't cooperate with me, then I'll have no choice but to arrest you under section article ten section ninety-four of galactic law accords as accessory to murder and kidnapping."

I pull out my badge and show it to her. Not that the human believes I really am a cop. "Nice try, but that's obviously a fake. And my price just went up another five hundred yen for wasting my time."

"I can assure you, it isn't a fake." I tell her.

I'm about to read the hatchling her rights and slap some cuffs on the youth when an outer wall starts to collapse inward. This then would be the assassin I'd read reports on. There being few other beings in this island capable of such a feat. I raise my left hand and point my palm at the developing hole. Moments later a cyan colored human female bursts in. Only to collapse to the ground.

"Right then, Xain Pu of the local sub-government known quaintly as 'Chinese amazons', for crimes against a royal member of the House Jurai I place you under arrest. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, the court will appoint someone to your case. You have the right to bring a counselor from your home planet."

I turn back towards the Tendo hatchling. "As for you Nabiki Tendo, you are charged with obstructing an official investigation, attempted blackmailing of an officer, and attempting to enslave a member of House Jurai. You have the same rights as the human Xain Pu. Do both of you understand these rights?"

"An outsider like you has no authority to take me into custody," the amazon girl said in her native language. Probably figured I must speak Chinese.

"Enough joking around. It stopped being funny a while ago," Nabiki also tries as I slip my standard issue wrist restraint bands on her.

Another pair was slipped onto the wrists of the other human. "It stopped being funny the second you tried to blackmail me, hatchling. Wait, that is not quite correct. It was never funny. Come quietly, or I'll have to use force. My ship is sitting in the nearby empty lot. Now I'll ask again, do you both understand your rights?"

When they both mentioned that yes, they did understand I lead my two captives towards my cruiser. Privately, I was thankful the GP had set up a holding facility in orbit of Jupiter. There's a surprising amount of galactic criminals that come to this back woods area of the milky way. And this is one case I really don't want to delay very long for prisoner transport.

"Oh, relax you two. It's not like you actually killed or enslaved royalty. You just tried to, and I'm sure the court will take that into consideration. After all, it was only recently that the fact someone survived the murder seventeen earth years ago came to light."

_**XxXxX**_

_Elsewhere_

Stealing food from that building had been a mistake. The panda knew this now. How was he suppose to have known about all those guns? While the guns themselves didn't worry him much, there were other things which did. Men with metal suits that moved as fast as he did, and hit almost as hard. Metal things which fired beams of cutting light and missiles. It was almost enough to make a hungry panda walk away instead of try for food. And now the panda truly wished it had ignored it's stomach just this once.

.

**Author Notes:**

No, Ranma isn't a main character just yet. Important, yes. But not a main character. This story is as much about the fallout of Genma Saotome's actions as it is about Ranma. And that fallout includes people outside of the Ranma ½ cast. Here is yet another POV installment. Next installment should be a POV for Mister E. The hunt for the baka panda continues as more crimes come to light.

To be fair, this story doesn't have to involve Ranma, Genma, or anything from Tenchi. I could have written it with new and unique characters to be protagonists and instigators. But for some reason this story started out with Ranma. I hadn't intended it. In fact I'd originally planned to write this for some friends to read only, not upload it. Someone mind telling Ranma to stop invading all my stories?


	10. From the Diaries Mister E POV

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

I never would have thought tracking a panda could be this difficult. Especially in an urban environment. Then again, I never really considered the possibility of a panda knowing martial arts either. In my long life, I'm still surprised at times. It's an experience that helps to ground me. Something I desperately need now and then. After all, they say that power corrupts. And I have been gifted, or maybe cursed with enormous levels of power over the years.

Pride can be a dangerous thing. I remind myself that every single day. It can make us do things just because we can, never asking if we should. It can shatter lives, and destroy dreams. I know this all too well. My own pride once hurt a good friend. And my country's pride compounded my sins. Now I live every day trying to atone. But I sometimes fear it isn't possible. Every time I think I am making strides, humanity does something new and stupid with the beast I accidentally unleashed.

And the blame lays squarely on my shoulders. Well, not entirely on mine. I had a lab assistant back then too. A man named Edward Teache. Good man if ever there was one. Like me, he'd been so focused on what science can do that he forgot to ask if it should be done. We had lofty goals back then. We sought to create a cheep and renewable source of power. Even then we knew that fossil fuels probably wouldn't last forever.

The nation was in the middle of a war. The greatest one in our history in fact. At the time, it was called 'the war to end all wars'. Oh how little we knew. But the war hadn't mattered to me one bit. I didn't make weapons after all. No, I had been working on a new type of power generator. One powered not by coal, but by water. Anymore I can't remember the specifics. But it had been an early prototype.

That was when things went sour. Something went wrong during the initial test. Weather it was sabotage or an accident, I've never really known. At the time all I saw was a blinding flash. All I heard was an explosion. The year at the time had been nineteen forty-four, and the world had been engulfed in war. After the explosion, I don't remember anything for the next three years. In fact, I'm told I spent those three years in a coma.

While I'm not the one who actually designed the bombs, it was my theories and generator plans which finally told the military how to split the adam. Oh sure, the history books say it was someone else who did all the work. But that's not the truth. It's just a coverup. After all, the people who had been trying for two years to develop a fusion bomb had been shown up by a lab accident. It's not my fault they decided to use my theories and process with uranium. It was intended for use with water, not unstable and energy rich material.

Of course, I didn't know that when I first woke up. The knowledge came much later. And with it, also knowledge of my curse. While the public doesn't realize it, there's a reason I face impossible odds in defense of the planet. I've been placed under divine judgment. Sentenced to live until I atone for the creation of atomic fission. To do so, I was granted one boon. A boon which has since been overshadowed by it's side effects.

An astute person might note that other races throughout the universe had creation atomic fusion and atomic fission too without penalty. But I have it on good authority that earth's version is by far the most destabilizing method in the known universe. Not just for the planet the explosion hits either. The method based on my original theories transfers a lot of energy into sub-realities too. The first test using my method and uranium shifted an entire realm of magic into another location. And that happened with nothing but rocks in the area.

The whole costumed crime fighter thing? That had been an accident actually. It started the day I'd been discharged from the hospital. I had three years of back pay from the military, and had been looking to deposit it. The bank I'd selected was known as the First Second Third National. And even I think it's a bit of a joke.

Of course, my visit to the financial institution happened to coincide with a group of three men wearing ski masks and waving hand guns. I must admit, at the time I was rather oblivious. I'd thought they were filming a movie or something. So imagine my surprise when as I drummed my fingers against my arm the world seemed to slow down. I saw a flash of light, and a bullet leave the 'fake' gun heading towards a pregnant woman.

At the time I had no idea what was going on. In fact, I was rather bemused as I walked out the door and across the street. After picking up a table from an outdoor cafe, I returned to the bank and held the table in the path of that physics defying bullet. Of course the fact the table weighed about thirty pounds hadn't registered on me. Instead I calmly placed the table back on the ground and returned to the pillar I had been leaning against.

That was the first time, but not the last. It was only a few weeks later that the public first learned of the mystery man known as 'Mister E', a play on my comment to reporters that first day. Over the years since then I have seen and done many things. I've watched friends die both in battle and to old age. Yet still I remain, unchanged and unchanging. Truly this life is a curse. Yet it's a curse I use to help others.

As I sat in Cree's hospital room I remember another time I was in a similar position. But that time it had been a woman fighting for her very life. Her name had been Janet Star, although most knew her as Harsh Justice. I met Janet almost forty years ago. Although she claimed to have been from the future. Or the distant past, I'm not entirely sure. She's mentioned both for some reason. As well as a lost child.

Janet had never joined the Society. In fact, she denounced us as sanctimonious and self righteous bastards. "Open your eyes and look at the real world," she'd tell me every chance she got. Never understanding that I do see the world exactly as it is. I also see how things could be, and strive to bring about that brighter tomorrow. But for dear Janet the world was a cold and cruel place. I'm not sure why, and she never said anything about it. The most I ever got was something about 'Doctor Odd'.

Ah, Doctor Odd I do know. In fact it was that psychopath who had placed Janet in the hospital that time. A madman or a genius, I've never been too sure. I first encountered the man in 1953. We'd faced each other many times. But then in 1974 our private war for the fate of humanity brought in another. And that spring day Janet Star sacrificed her self to save my life. She threw herself in the path of that death ray, protecting me even as it scrambled her insides.

I sat by her side for almost a month, never moving and barely eating. The worry had almost killed me. But again I found out the hard way. I'm not allowed to die. Not yet, and maybe not ever. The price of my pride and arrogance. To have not only all scientific knowledge ripped from me, but to live a life unending regardless of how much I desire it's conclusion. That was one of the times I railed against my fate.

And now once again a good friend lays in a hospital, caught between life and death. The unfairness of it all hit me again. That villain had caused so much pain and suffering already. Not just for his own son. No, that would have been bad enough. But taking two friends from me, I could feel the rage growing. For sixty=four years I've stared into the abyss. Sometimes quite literally. And yet never before had I felt this much desire to hurt another.

Violence in my line of work is expected. Nay, it's required. But in all this time I've never once taken pleasure in that nature. But as I gazed at Cree's helpless body I felt something die. Not my innocence. That died a long time ago, although most don't realize it. No, I felt something else pass away. For the first time ever I wanted to hurt someone.

And I wanted to hurt them so bad they could never harm another again. It's a slippery slope when that happens. And I knew that I could no longer pursue this criminal. Today dear diary as I gazed upon my comatose friend I fear I finally lost my way. My idealism shattered, and I'm not sure if it can ever be recovered. I'm possibly the most powerful mortal to walk this planet. If I can't be trusted to do what's right, then the world is in serious danger.

Perhaps it's time to retire and find another way to atone.

Kevin Smith

**Author Notes:**

These Point of View chapters are nearing their end. They began as a way to further introduce each person to the reader. A way to show who each person is, and why they do what they do. I've said it before but it probably deserves repeating. Ranma is NOT the main character in this story. At least not for a while.

This is primarily a story about the Freedom Society, and how they deal with Genma's actions. It's a tale of loss and redemption. Of mistakes and learning the price for those mistakes. And it seems it's also a story about the end of an era. Of a world's best and brightest heroes deciding enough is enough.

I'm sorry if people assumed it was a "Ranma is an uber badass" story. It's not. He's a world class martial artist, but that doesn't mean he's The Best. Maybe once the flaws in his style are corrected but even then it's doubtful. Then again, the only valid claim made about Ranma's skills that I recall are that he's the best _in his generation_. But he's not sparred against martial artists from his generation. He's sparred against highly skilled adults who have been practicing and perfecting their skills for decades.

Genma is a sub-plot really. But the hunt for him will draw people into much bigger events. I have an overall storyline which has been hinted at a few times now. But the details are still unknown to the Freedom Society. They don't even realize there is a plot going on in fact. Remember also that this is a story about a TEAM of heroes. A team Ranma may end up joining. But enough of that. I want to discuss a bit about Mister E since this chapter goes into his backstory. And to a lesser extent the history of their world.

Imagine if you that Superman fought the never ending battle not because it was the 'right' thing to do, but because he was under a divine curse. Imagine if he had faced the worst the universe has to offer for not a few years (like in Superman cannon at times), but for over seventy years. Imagine if he could expect to probably face all eternity trying to atone for one mistake.

Would he grow cynical? Would he become tired of the never ending battle? Or would he remain always an optimist? What if Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen got caught in the cross fire? What if they died, or nearly died. How would this affect the man of steel? And what if he'd been forced to attend the funerals of all his friends not once, but dozens of times? Fighting crime is dangerous. It's amazing more heroes don't get killed.

Mister E has been fighting crime since 1947, and has attended the funerals of hundreds of friends and fellow heroes. He watched his loved ones grow old and die. After all, the man had been in his late thirties back in 1944. And now within the space of about a week he's lost one friend he knew back at the beginning, and may well lose another. Everyone has their breaking point. And it's the wise man who knows when to call it quits.

Next chapter should be the last of the Point of View segments. Expect to see into the mind of Streak.


	11. Investigation Streak POV

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

It's ironic, but I'd never have become a cop if it hadn't been for the others. I'd known about the Society all my life. Who hasn't heard of them? Heroes who've saved the earth countless times. Me being counted among their ranks never even crossed my mind. To be fair, I'd thought myself normal as a kid too. At least until my eighteenth birthday. That was when my life changed irrevocably. It was the day I first manifested my gifts.

On that particular Saturday I had decided on a morning jog. To my surprise a seven foot tall green skinned man came flying head first through a wall. I'd seen the person in the news now and then. The name at the time I couldn't remember. But the green skin and silver body suit were very distinctive. At the time I didn't think about my actions. Instead I ran. I put myself in between the alien and a street light he was heading towards.

Let me tell you, having a seven foot tall man slam into you, and knock you into a steel pole hurts. That was what I focused on at the time. Not the fact I'd just ran six blocks in the space of a second. Nor the fact that some demonic looking creature was emerging from the building before me. That was the first time I'd personally met a member of the Society.

It was after that meeting that a man named Alex Rivers approached me. He offered training in my powers and a scholarship in the career of my choice. At the time, I thought it was a joke. So I said I was interested in criminal justice. Of course it was a joke. Why would someone approach a complete nobody with an offer of a completely free scholarship? It turned out the offer was completely serious.

The memories come to me as I examine the precinct. I'm looking for evidence. For clues as to what happened. Everyone but me is dead. But they are still alive and standing just outside the station house. How and why are important questions. But the first thing to learn is if these are copies, or the originals. So I turn my attention to the body of my partner. We've worked alongside each other for years. Bill's been a good friend. We know things about each other that no one else knows. Not even family.

For example, he's not fully human anymore. Once a month his skin has to shed, revealing greyish green scales for about an hour before the new layer recovers it's normal look and texture. That came about when we got caught in a pocket reality two years ago while investigating a cult. In fact, it should be about time for him to shed. No one but me knows about this. So any duplicate wouldn't have scales just beneath the skin.

Bill's corpse has scales. He's the real thing. That means that likely every corpse is the real person. Which also tells me this is a trap. Someone is going to a lot of effort to replace every officer in the precinct. And they are trying to make it look like I killed them. The question is, who is behind this? That'll have to be put on hold. The hiss of steel passing through the air at high speed alerts me that the killer is now trying for a final victim. Good thing my identity wasn't public knowledge.

I roll to the side and come up on my feet. But I don't stand still. I'm already moving even as the assassin recovers. I note the speed enhancing exoskeleton worn by the other person. I also note the gray and blue cameo jump suit. Great, it's the SoA. That gives me a who anyway. But not a why. Again, no time to pause. The assailant is charging me with his longsword readied. He's fast, I'm faster. There goes my secret identity.

In the blink of an eye I've reached my locker and opened the secret compartment. It only takes a couple seconds to don my costume and belt on my scabbard. It's a simple affair. Just a dark brown traditional ninja outfit with matching mask. It's not the most elaborate of costumes. But it's what I can afford. Public servants don't exactly get paid a lot. The white S sewn onto the front is my only concession to it being a costume. Well, that and the red speed lines that come off the s.

My katana hums as I draw enchanted steel at high speed. It's just in time to block a deadly slash from my erstwhile attacker. The katana had been broken a few years back during an invasion by titans. Fortunately not all gods are jerks. Some actually repay debts. Thus I managed to convince Hephaestus to reforge it. Mind, I'd expected him to just reforge the family sword. Not enchant it. Now I can actually use it to deflect bullets without it taking damage. Handy thing at that.

"You guys still haven't figured it out yet, have you?" I ask the assassin.

Even as I do I'm engaging the man in high speed combat. I've dealt with those speed exosuits before. They have a top speed of almost two hundred miles an hour. Which is rather impressive. They also require extensive cybernetics to interface with and power the exosuit. Against a normal person, the wearer would probably be unbeatable. The Soldiers of America first came up with the exosuit as a counter to my own speed.

No, not the US military. Rather the SoA as I understand it are a rogue splinter branch of the CIA. They use to be extreme black ops. Then they went too far. These days the SoA are an elite paramilitary organization bent on world domination. We've tangoed several times. And usually the Society just barely holds our own. If they are taking over a NYC station house, something big must be up.

But first, I have to survive this assassination attempt. My foe Is more skilled then their usual foot soldiers. Guess they got tired of me destroying the exosuits. For almost two minutes we're exchanging blows. Neither quite able to get past the other's defense. But I have an unseen advantage. Having an indestructible weapon helps a lot in such a battle. Of course, I don't exactly advertise that my sword is now magic.

Naturally it is a complete surprise to the terrorist when his sword finally breaks. Then again, it surprises me too. So when it happens I don't pull back in time. I watch in mute horror as enchanted steel cleaves through flesh. The very speed the blade is traveling generates enough friction to cauterize the would, just as had happened to everyone else here. It was an accident. But that doesn't make me feel any less ill.

It's only happened a few times. And each time I regret it. I hate taking a life for any reason. If it comes to a firefight, I always shoot to wound, not kill. In battle I do my best to incapacitate without killing. This isn't what I wanted. But it's what happened. So I feel duty bound to look at the face of the man I just killed. The mask comes off, and the blood drains from my face. The person is me. This was to be my replacement.

But it gives me an idea. Maybe I can use this accident to my advantage. We really need to know what's being planned after all. And clearly they didn't know that I'm Streak. So I replace my costume and blade in it's hidden storage. It's the work of seconds to dress my double in one of my spare uniforms. Duplicating the cut on the shirt is little difficulty. Patching up the SoA uniform takes a few seconds. Donning it is a little slower. I belt on his scabbard and put the damaged weapon in it. It'll at least look intact while sheathed.

Sigh, I hate undercover work.

**Author Notes:**

Not as long as I'd like. But this seems a good point to stop. After all, can't reveal too much of what's going on yet. Naturally, reviews are welcome. Constructive criticism encouraged. And as always, if I get something spelled wrong feel free to let me know. I proof read, and spell check as I go. But not everything is in the spellcheck dictionary. Nor is it in my webster. And some spelling errors aren't easy to catch. Things like the wrong usage of their, there, they're, your, and you're aren't caught by spellcheck.

If someone can point out spelling errors, hopefully with the correct spelling too... I do go through and correct spelling. Currently I'm on a project to update all chapters for 2 stories with the correct spelling of Nerima and then reupload those chapters. This is in addition to working on new chapters for various stories. And working an a new story too.


	12. Crossroads

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

_This can't be happening!_ This was the thought that echoed through Nabiki's mind over and over. She'd thought the cosplaying woman was joking. She'd continued thinking that up until she'd been marched into an alien looking space craft. Even then it might have been a really elaborate prank. Except for the cell with honest to god force fields blocking her in. The ship lifted into the air after that. The gee forces of lift off were negligible. The sensation of movement however wasn't.

Then there had been the way this stranger had disabled Xain Pu, or Shampoo as most called her. Had she miscalculated? The news reports from America had been clearly faked. People just didn't fly or turn into living ice. Nor was it possible for there to be aliens. Or any number of other things she'd seen in the world news. It had to be faked. And yet, that very same falsehood was now dragging Nabiki someplace else.

When gravity appeared to cease the youth's disbelief finally evaporated. It was then that she realized just how much trouble she might be in. _What if, what if that woman was telling the truth?_ It was an abhorrent thought. She prided herself on knowing every detail. And yet, and yet this time she'd clearly missed some vital information. But when? Where? Perhaps the clues laid in what this woman had said.

Was it possible that Ranma wasn't actually the panda's son? The more Nabiki thought about it, the more likely it seemed. But was Genma Saotome the type of person to murder a couple and steal their baby? Maybe, she wasn't so sure anymore. That the man was reckless and stupid had no doubt. But malicious? That was something the teenager wasn't sure about. A bigger concern though was how to get out of this situation.

/"How did I get dragged into this mess?"/

_**XxXxX**_

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but when the Saotome man is brought in, he's under galactic jurisdiction." The speaker was a woman with lavender skin.

On her back was a pair of moth wings. She wore a backless gown, and was sitting in the chair of her space cruiser. Her name was unknown. But everyone called her Moth. As she piloted her craft towards the local holding facility she continued to speak into the communications array. Her team mates needed to know what was going on.

"He's committed crimes against the Jurai ruling family, including murder and kidnapping. Currently I'm transporting two suspects for interrogation and trial in regards to the case."

"_Who is that, Moth?"_ Came a man's voice.

On the view screen was a middle aged human man with blue hair. He was wearing a green turtle neck sweater from what Moth could see. The lair of frost covering everything behind him indicated the man was at his home. The fact he wasn't bundled up in multiple layers was testament to his immunity to the cold. _Ah, what will I ever do about you Sam?_

"The first is a human girl who is deliberately obstructing justice, as well as having committed multiple crimes herself. The second is another human girl. This one stands accused of attempted assassination, attempted kidnapping, and other less serious crimes. Both may have information which could lead to the arrest of Bioblade's murderer. Oh, and could you inform your student that his name is Masaki, not Saotome? I'll try to contact any living relitives still on Earth and inform them of his survival."

"_Can do. But how did you know she's staying with me?"_ Sam asked her.

"I don't know," Moth said slyly. "It might be the fact there's a red headed girl standing behind you and looking annoyed. Greetings Prince Ranma. Or should I say princess?"

The twinkle in her eye indicated mirth. Although the mentioned teenage girl was not amused by all appearance.

_**XxXxX**_

_He's going to pay for this,_ Ranma thought as she tried finding something edible in the kitchen. Or at the very least something that wasn't frozen solid. The guest room was okay. A little chilly, but otherwise fine. But the rest of the house felt like a freezer. Almost looked like one too. Everything had a layer of frost on it. Heck, she was burning up chi constantly just trying to stay warm. Within a few minutes she'd probably have to retreat to the guest room, or risk freezing to death.

Yet her host acted as if the bitter cold didn't exist. The only concession was a sweater. Yet it seemed that he wore that all the time. From what others at that mansion had indicated, he wore one even in extreme heat. That was something Ranma couldn't understand at all. Nor was he quite sure what a 'domino pizza' was. But there were a lot of empty boxes with that arcane label on them. Finding a sizable room set up like a dojo had been a pleasant surprise too.

Her arms were crossed as Ranma approached the man, woman, whatever she was staying with. There was absolutely nothing to eat in here. Or anything to drink for that matter. Just bottles of ice in a cabinet. Looking extremely cross, the youthful martial artist almost didn't notice the machine her new sensei was talking to.

/"Who's that, Sensei?"/ the youth asked.

Sam acted startled at the voice behind him. Despite his friend's comment, he'd not really expected anyone to be there. After all, his home was mostly too cold for a normal person wearing silk cloths to walk about. By all rights the house guest should still be in her room. But no, as Sam turned around he saw a red haired youth standing there with arms crossed. _Whoa! Damn she looks pissed. Wonder why?_

/"That, as you so rudely put it is a friend of mine. And she wishes me to relay some information, Princess Ranma. It seems your name is Ranma Masaki, not Saotome. I don't know the details yet, but I'm sure Moth will tell us later. If you'd like, I can turn on the translator so you can talk to her."

/"Fine,"/ was all Ranma would say.

_**XxXxX**_

Half a nation away a man sat on his bed. His name was Kevin Smith, and he was tired. Not physically tired, although that was also true. Rather he felt a weariness of the spirit. In his hands was a solid white spandex shirt. The shirt had a red E emblazoned on it's chest. For a long time he'd worn this shirt as part of a uniform. A symbol of how things should be. A way of inspiring hope in others. But now he was having doubts.

"How can I inspire hope, if I've lost it myself?" Kevin asked the air. "I have done this for so very long. And there seems no end in sight. I am so sorry, I didn't know what would happen. I let my pride take over and didn't investigate the possible consequences. But please, let this torture end. I can't... I can't face losing another close friend. Haven't I done enough for the world? Isn't stopping a mad god good enough? What more is needed? What more must I do before I'm allowed peace?"

"I'm sorry my old friend. But the others still haven't forgiven you."

The voice caused Kevin to turn his head. There was someone he'd not seen in eleven years. A man who had long claimed to be a spirit. A man who had sacrificed himself to stop the destruction of everything. After so long, Kevin could no longer remember the man's actual name. Or if he'd ever known it. Instead it was the call sign that was remembered.

"Gray? But I thought..." Kevin stammered.

"I did." the one known as Gray Ghost said. His features still indistinct. "For the second time I died that day. And for the second time I as reborn. No longer am I merely a spirit craving justice. I have been charged with a greater task. Which is why I come to you now."

"He's gone Gray," Kevin said as tears flowed freely. "He was the last of us originals, and he's gone. Cut down for trying to help a defenseless boy."

"I'm sorry, old friend. There was nothing I could do. His destiny required this." Gray Ghost said with genuine sorrow.

Nothing he could do... "You could have stopped it. Destiny be darned, he was the best of us. Our conscience when we strayed from the path. A reminder of who we are, and why we fought."

Gray Ghost shook his head slowly from side to side. "No old friend, his fate is too important. An era is ending, and a new one about to begin. You still have a journey ahead of your self as well. It is time for you to step aside for now. You will know when duty calls you once more. For now, enjoy some peace. And know the world will be in good hands."

_**XxXxX**_

_Two figures walk along a path of light and darkness. All around them bubbles of energy can be seen. As they approach one in peticular they note it's thick membrane. With a shrug the guide sits down and pulls out a pack of cards._

"_Well, looks like he's awake. Care for a game of rummy or ten while waiting, Bast?"_

_A woman with the head of a panther smiled. "Make it gin rummy and your on. Speaking of which, I forgot to ask. Who am I talking with?"_

"_Why Bast, how could you not recognize your old friend Nox? Although while on vacation I do prefer being called Dream Chyld."_

**Author Notes:**

As mentioned earlier in the story, Dream Chyld is quite insane. There are days she firmly believes she is Lady Nox, either a goddess of the night or from Greek myth alternately. Other times she believes herself to be an avatar of Morpheus, god of dreams. And on rare occasions she remembers she is merely a mortal psychic from Japan who physically lives in the dream world.


	13. Convergence

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Hammerchuckery: You aren't the first to mention my writing style being at times disjointed. I don't really plan out events in a story for the most part. For a major climax I might, but otherwise I let the story flow as it will. As such sometimes it jumps around a lot. The Point Of View chapters are intended to give a glimpse into the mind and motivations of various central characters. The second review of the world's history wasn't planned really. It's just how it came out. Mister E was reflecting on his life. And while the first chapter does have a bit of history, the Mister E POV chapter was far more personal. It wasn't the world's history, it was his personal history. Although, I hadn't originally intended to do any POV chapters. But after the first two, I had to do a matching set.

To be perfectly honest with you, when I started writing this, I did think Ranma would be a central character. Possibly THE central character. But I was wrong. I put the warning in the summery to try heading off most of the nerd rage I expected over Ranma not being THE central character. But this story is far from over. Even once the current arc is done, it can easily continue. But then again, by the end of the current arc I think Ranma will be one of the central characters. Just not yet. There's still a lot of things that will probably happen before then.

But now, on with the story.

**Wild Horses Can't Be Tamed**

_**Freedom City, New York**_

_Two Weeks after funeral_

It had taken a while, but he'd finally done it. The balding martial artist had finally lost all pursuers. With that finally taken care of, he stalked towards the old mansion once again. This time he would make no mistakes. The boy would be returned to him, and punished for trying to escape. Exactly how he'd be punished, the man hadn't decided yet. One thing was for sure though. It was time to stop going easy on the boy.

The only problem in his mind was how large the building was. It would take a while to search it. But no matter, anything for his retirement. He hadn't spent ten years preparing the boy just to let that meal ticket escape. And this was all that monster's fault. If it hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened. He'd still have the boy, and a new arrangement could be made for retirement.

As Genma crept towards the mansion he kept an eye out for that winged monster. Twice now it had tried attacking him. _I could have sworn I'd killed it the first time. And what's with all these oni running around?_ He thought as a first floor window was jimmied open. He'd almost expected it to be locked secured shut somehow. Instead there was just a simple latch. Nor did Genma spot any signs of an alarm.

_Perhaps,_ he thought, _they rely on the oni to patrol?_ _A foolish notion. Oni are easy to kill for a master of The Art._ That he was in truth, not a master didn't cross his mind. It never actually did. Neither did it ever occur to him people might employ security other then dogs and locks. Genma was a simple man with simple desires. He desired an easy life, and knew just how to achieve it. Anything that got in the way of his desires, well it wouldn't stay there for long.

His eyes took in the room with a greedy shine. While he didn't recognize many of the objects, this was obviously a display area. Thus everything was valuable. That jewel encrusted scimitar for example could make him a fortune with the right buyers. Even more if he removed the gems to sell them separately. And it was just sitting there out in the open. Not even a glass case around it.

Over there was another yen factory just waiting to be taken. A diamond of size and clarity that Genma had never heard of before. Again with no protection at all. Then there was a wood club that was clearly valuable. Not for it's construction, that it's self was rather plain. No, what made the club valuable was it's age and that the culture had died out centuries ago. _Even if I can't find the boy, this room alone will make me rich!_

_**XxXxX**_

A soft beeping alerted her to something being wrong. Moth had been reviewing the information gained from the Tendo girl. As well as that gained from that Chinese girl. Or more specifically the girl's grandmother. An elder of their backwoods tribe it seemed. Possibly the leader of the tribe. But now the monitor was beeping, and a red light was flashing on and off. Checking the light, Moth noted that someone had broken into the dangerous artifact vault.

She quickly switched the camera display to that room and grinned. _Fools rush in where elders refuse to fly,_ she thought wryly. _Wait, why is there a window in the vault? Isn't it a good twenty feet below ground? I'd better hurry down there._ Putting thought to action, she hit a button to sound the alert throughout the mansion and left her station. _Who else is here tonight? Besides me and Kevin that is. And I'm not sure how much help he'll be. That man has been depressed for a week._

_**XxXxX**_

Genma continued examining the room, deciding which items were most valuable. As he did so the part-time panda noticed something odd. The walls were a solid gray and appeared to be metal. Finally he glanced back towards the window. Only to watch as his entry method vanished. The entire wall the window was on changed. In it's place was more metal walls, and a circular metal door. Almost like the door on a safe. At least as seen from the inside.

He was not a smart man. Although Genma thought he was. In his own mind, the fool was a certifiable genius. Even so he had encountered enough magic to recognize when something was off. So with greater care he examined the treasures awaiting his grasp. Still he saw no security. But something was drawing him to one sword in particular. The bejeweled one he'd noticed first. He also saw no quiet way to leave this room.

_**XxXxX**_

_**Freedom Society Training Room**_

/"Why do you always dodge?"/

The question caught Ranma off guard. As she flipped back onto her feet the teenager asked /"Whacha mean?"/

/"Just that,"/ Sam asked as he settled into a waiting stance. /"And why do you nearly always lead off with a jump kick? While it's a potent move, it's too damn easy to counter. Similarly while they are damn impressive, your aerial skills limit you too much. Not to mention possible to negate. It's like your only half trained. Whoever trained you taught you chi manipulation, but just barely. They taught you the fundamentals, but left large holes in your defenses. And any black belt will spot those holes."/

Ranma thought about what he said with a frown. As a guy her sensei was not only old, but barely able to walk three steps at times. Yet could fight her to a stand still. Why? When in that weird ice form Ranma found she could barely affect her sensei. Only by using the chestnut fist could she even hope to overcome his durability in that form. Why not? And while Ranma was fast, his reflexes seemed like lightning at times. How could he dodge that fast? It was almost as if he did it by instinct.

/"Why wouldn't I dodge an attack that can shatter stone?"/ Ranma finally asked.

Instead of answering, Sam pressed the the attack. Too quickly he had managed to overwhelm her again. While faster then him, Ranma found herself spending as much time avoiding being hit as attacking. Meanwhile most of her punches and kicks were redirected even as he launched a counter-attack. This meant his offense was more persistent then her own. Not by much, but it was quickly becoming noticeable. Even when he lost balance and fell, Sam would roll to his feet too fast to really take advantage of his mistake.

/"That is why. What did you do wrong?"/ Sam requested of her. When no reply was forthcoming he continued. /"In serious battle it's easier to deflect then avoid. Faster too, and you don't get as winded. The way you fight, you waste too fucking much energy dodging. Try this time, but only deflect my attacks."/

They went back to sparring after that. Only for the lights to start flashing red. This caused Sam to immediately transform into living ice and hold up a hand. They separated and Ranma scowled briefly. She'd finally been holding her own against Sensei. Since talking to that purple skinned woman a week ago Ranma had thrown herself into training. Anything to avoid thinking about what she'd learned.

It hadn't surprised the gender changed marital artist that Nabiki Tendo had gotten herself into trouble. Learning that Shampoo had also landed in serious trouble was a shock. That girl had seemed immune to all legal issues. Nabiki had seemed too clever to be caught. Obviously she'd gotten into something over her head though. But learning she was not now, nor had ever been a Saotome had been the biggest hit to Ranma's world view.

Who were the Masaki clan? Ranma had no idea. She'd never heard of them. As Sensei left the training room Ranma found some slightly warm water. Any hotter and it would burn. Any cooler and the change wouldn't occur. Once completely alone she dumped the water upon her own head. This initiated a too familiar physiomorphic shift. In it's wake Ranma Saotome, _no it's Masaki,_ was once more a boy.

He felt clumsy. Almost as much as Sensei was. He also felt weak. Even the most basic of kata were tiring. He couldn't preform aerial maneuvers that had taken years to perfect. He couldn't even jump like he'd become use to. His chi was still there, Ranma knew it. Yet he was denied all access to it. It was highly frustrating. Ranma had not felt this helpless in ten years.

Over the last decade he'd become use to being more then human. Through shear force of will and insane training he'd passed beyond his body's limits. He'd become as close to superhuman as he'd thought possible. Becoming stronger, faster, and more durable. That state had become normal. At no point was Ranma not magnifying his physical capabilities via chi. And yet now all that was gone.

/"Have I been hurting myself all this time? Is there a better way?"/

It was the only thing that made any sense. After all, just having his chi blocked should not have made him physically less able to take punishment. But what if he'd been relying on a crutch all this time? His father, or rather who he'd thought was father, displayed the same levels of strength and agility. Maybe slightly less. Yet he could easily be taken out with a surprise attack. The same went for the grandmaster of his style. Almost as if they had to consciously access their chi enhanced abilities.

Yet they were still formidable when surprised. Sensei could defeat him even when chi enhanced. In fact, Ranma was fairly sure his sensei never used his chi in any way. Half trained, was it possible? _After all, pops was never granted mastery. He self claimed it. According to the pervert I'm more of a master then pops is. But he's not my pop is he? _

_/"_Who am I? I wish I knew."/ Ranma said aloud with a sigh.

From behind Ranma came a voice he didn't recognize. It was female. It was most definitely female. The language spoken wasn't one he knew. Yet Ranma could still understand it. "I could help you with that, among other things."

Slowly he stood. Turning around, Ranma took in the speaker. She was about six feet tall. Very beautiful body. Dusky skin, but nationality was hard to place. Her clothing was a simple white sleeveless gown with gold embroidery along the neck. His eyes stayed on her chest area for entirely too long. Finally Ranma pulled his gaze further up her body. He examined the woman's face, and froze. She had the head of a …

"C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c..."

And Ranma knew no more.

_**XxXxX**_

Cold Snap raced towards the vault after getting a status update. An intruder in THAT room was bad. Very very bad. It was where the Society stored the most dangerous magic artifacts collected over the last seventy years. Artifacts of such power and raw evil that they had imperiled the world countless times. Now and then one would somehow get back into the public. But by and large it was the most secure place to store them.

And now someone was in the vault. This couldn't have come at a worse time either. Not with Mister E announcing his retirement to the press in two days. Cree was still in a coma, and no one had heard from Streak in a week. It was very alarming. Especially after a kid had reported finding the bodies of dozens of officers buried in the woods. Officers which were still publicly alive. Yet DNA tests indicated the corpses were the real deal.

It was enough to make one paranoid.

Author Notes:

Next chapter will be delayed a bit. I have to determine what artifacts exactly Genma acquired. As well as determine what they do, and if Genma will keep them. I'm still unsure if this Genma is actively malicious, or just stupid and greedy. Needless to say, things are starting to snowball. And don't worry, I intend to reveal more of Ranma's past too. Including what exactly happened to his real parents. And why.


	14. Interlude One

"speech"

"_radio or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

**Wild Horses Can't Be Tamed**

_**Tokyo, Japan**_

Ikari Yasuko was an unassuming man. If one passed him in the street you would probably not even notice him. Nor would one think his job important. He officially was a copy editor for the emperor. And in a sense that was what he did. But it wasn't the full truth. No, his job was much more important. It involved dealing with television stations and media producers across the nation. But it was a job almost no one heard of.

And today he was getting a very big headache. Gojira was due to attack any day now. This meant he had to arrange for a media blackout on the event. Then there was the evacuation of the expected point of emergence. There were already plans for the media smokescreen. Namely a big budget movie using state of the art animatronics instead of the usual man in a rubber suit.

The 'busted' robot was already prepped. All that was left was to program the 'error' in once damages were finally known. The official story was going to be that something went horribly wrong on the set while filming a scene. And the next Gojira film was in the works. It had been started the moment the beast was confirmed to be heading towards Tokyo, again. Thankfully that creature usually got bored after destroying a handful of buildings along the wharf and left.

On another front Yasuko had been forced to block yet more news stories from Europe and America. It just wouldn't do for the nation to learn of those so-called 'super heroes'. He also had to arrange another viral video that could be debunked. Too often of late had things been leaked into the media. There was also that accursed Youtube site. It alone made his job that much harder.

An aid came into his office with a new report. Glancing at it, Yasuko groaned. _Damn those girls. Do they have to be so public about dealing with those demons? I'll have to arrange a new season of both the anime and live action series to counter this latest private war. I guess I had better call Her._ Contacting 'her' was never one of his favorite past times. But it was the lesser of two evils. At least _she_ worked with him and understood the need to keep things out of the public.

Another report came in, this time from the Nerima ward. That was another area that gave him a huge headache. Reading it over, he grinned. Finally there was some good news. The first all day in fact. _Maybe I'll send Officer Moth a thank you card._ He thought after rereading the report. _Without that girl publishing her newsletter it should be easier then ever to cover this up. Too bad I couldn't find where she publishes or who her distributor is._

**Author Notes:**

People expressed curiosity as to how Nabiki thought news of the Freedom Society was faked. Well, here's your answer. In this world setting there are very few meta-humans in Japan. The few there are tend to be mistaken for high end martial artists. Not surprising what high end martial artists can do either. It's impossible to completely cover up world events. Or local events.

The job of Ikari Yasuko is to ensure the public doesn't become aware of anything 'exotic'. To that end he creates media blackouts for certain events. He blocks some news stories, while creating easy to disprove stories that cast disbelief on any real news stories that get through. He also ensures that meta-human events in Japan stay out of world news. A far easier job.

In Tokyo people may have heard of the weirdness in Nerima or Juuban, but frequently discount it. Outside of Tokyo almost no one has heard of Ranma Saotome. Any sightings of the Sailor Senshi get discounted by the public at large as media publicity for the Sailor Moon live action and anime series.

Only those who actually live around the weirdness, Yasuko, certain members of the JDF, and parts of the government are actually aware of what is really happening. And it seems Gojira exists in this world too. O.o

That isn't to say ALL anime are coverups. The only ones that are confirmed for this story's world are Tenchi, Sailor Moon, and Ranma. Others may or may not also exist in this world. But if they do it's more toned down then the anime/manga. In this world there is no Ranma ½ anime/manga. Nor are there any Tenchi anime. If there is a Ranma manga, it was being written by commission from Nabiki. In this world the Sailor Moon anime/manga deliberately use the wrong names for the senshi civilian identities. And yes, he was planning on contacting Sailor Pluto.


	15. Fate

"speech"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

It wasn't the first time the mansion had been visited by divinity. That honor was credited to July 7th, 1965 when Zeus had decided a heroine called Lady Justice would be good in the sack. Nor was it the most monumental time divinity had visited. The honor for that went to September 23rd, 2000 after the Society had fought and defeated the mad god Apsu at great cost of life. It wasn't even the shortest visit. That once again was July 7th, 1965 when Lady Justice kicked Zeus in the crotch and physically threw him out a window two minutes after he'd arrived.

No, the honor on this day was for being the most playful visit by a god or goddess to the Freedom Society mansion. The goddess Bast had come to visit Ranma Masaki at the behest of an old friend. And currently she was dangling a catnip mouse on a string in front of neko-Ranma. A mouse which he was playfully batting and pouncing at. Each time the cat minded boy managed to catch the mouse a tingle traversed Ranma's body.

Soon black fur began to sprout all over the boy's skin. Hands and feet started to shift into actual paws, rather then imitating them. His eyes moved closer together while his ears moved to the top of his head. They also changed shape into triangular cat ears. His face distorted, becoming more and more like a muzzle. Within minutes instead of a pig tailed boy Bast was playing with a large cat. It wasn't quite a panther, although it was the same size Ranma had previously been.

"Is that better my child?" Bast asked.

"_Yes, kind one." _Neko Ranma purred happily as he settled onto her lap. _"To what I owe favor?"_

The goddess began scratching behind the newly minted feline's ears as she pondered what to say. "A friend of mine asked for my help in a family matter after learning of you. Do you remember who it was? Who did this, and how long ago was it?"

A black furred head turned and looked up at her. Although difficult, the large cat managed to convey an expression of puzzlement. His tail lashed back and forth in agitation as Neko Ranma considered the question. A low whine emerged and his ears laid down flat. When she saw this, Bast began to stroke the feline's back gently in an effort to calm Neko down. The last thing she wanted was for the child to run off. Let alone get hurt.

"_Don't wanna 'member. Painbringer bad. Don't like thinkin bout Painbringer. Rather think bout Warm Lap or Foodbringer."_ Neko finally whined.

_Foodbringer? Warm Lap? It's worse then I feared. It must have been done when he was very young._ Bast thought to herself. "Well young one, if you like I can help with what happened to you. But it must be your choice."

Neko paused in thought over that. _"What do Kind One mean?"_

She continued stroking the cat's back as she spoke. "I can help you become whole once more, but only if you want it. Afterwords you will be changed. The harm caused by 'Painbringer' will be undone. No longer will you be entirely one of my children. But I'll always consider you one of mine."

"_What bout Other?"_ Neko asked.

Bast mentally scowled. _He refers to each side as a separate entity. That can't be good. At least he's not a berserker like most become._ "May I speak with Other?"

"_Other hidin, Kind One scare Other."_

"Yes young one," Bast began. "I know I scare him. Still, I need to speak to Other."

The goddess's appearance flowed. Gone was her feline head. In it's place was the face of a young Egyptian woman. Her jet black hair was braided on the sides and flowed down to the middle of Bast's neck. On her lap Neko watched with interest. His tail was still lashing back and forth in irritation from even briefly considering Painbringer. Still, it was nice to sit on the lap of Mother of All Cats.

Kind One was someone Neko had known about instinctively for over ten years. After all, all cats knew of Kind One. Some might have forgotten, such as that weird tall tabby from the other day. But even he would recognize Kind One on sight. Neko was sure of it. And now Kind One was offering help. But first She wanted to speak with Other. With a mental shrug Neko decided it couldn't hurt. Within seconds Neko had fallen into a light sleep.

_**XxXxX**_

The vault door opened with the force of an elephant's charge. Through it a man made of solid ice ran through. He wore a solid white body suit with a white headband to hold his blue hair out of his eyes. His gloves and boots were an icy blue, and a ice blue snow flake adorned his chest. As he moved the man formed an ice tonfa out of ambient moisture. The tonfa was held in his right hand, while the left hand crackled with electricity.

Cold Snap took in the chamber in an instant. There was the murderer that had caused so much strife of late. And the bald martial artist was grabbing a sword which gave Cold Snap the willies. The last owner of the sword had caused much death and destruction in Europe. Those events were before his time. But from what Snap had heard, it had been bad. In truth, Cold Snap didn't know much about any of this vault's artifacts. All he knew was that many ended up here after their villainous owners had died in battle.

"I suggest you surrender, asshole." Cold Snap proclaimed "But feel free to ignore that suggestion. I _want _to break every fucking bone in your god damn body."

A slight breeze from behind told him that Moth had arrived. A sweet girl in his opinion, but too withdrawn of late. For years he'd suspected she was preparing herself to go home for good. And Cold Snap didn't blame her one bit. Losing that many friends at once had been hard. For months afterwords Snap had been an angry and truly bitter man. For a while he'd been unable to see the one thing that helped him keep fighting.

The one thing that made it all worth while: hope. Without it, Cold Snap had become little better then the thugs he habitually did battle with. He'd been on a downward spiral with no end in sight. And it hadn't been very pretty. It was in those dark days that he'd learned an aspect of himself which had been hidden. And then six months after the death of his wife Sam J. 'Cold Snap' Bricklebuster had rediscovered his hope.

As he weaved around that enchanted sword Cold Snap reflected upon the events of that week back in 2001. His mind was only partly on the fight. Even so, it was proving to be enough to stay one step ahead of Genma Saotome. A punishing kick struck the icy hero in the chest, sending him flying across the vault. _That HURT!_

As Cold Snap recovered he watched as Moth did her best to stay away. The woman was an expert at manipulating gravity for various things. From a defensive barrier to ranged offense, she could create a wide variety of gravitational fields and effects. But all her tricks were doing little good. Something unseen tore through one of her wings despite the defensive barrier. And the murderer was making the same gesture again.

Without thought Cold Snap threw himself in front of the galactic police officer. The, whatever it was, slammed into his chest hard. He could feel a few minor cracks in his icy structure from the sheer impact strength. Otherwise no lasting injury had been inflicted. This time. Snap launched a bolt of electricity at Genma, striking the man squarely in the chest. As smoke started to waft from the murder he vanished.

Wary of the man's invisibility trick, Snap launched a barrage of ice shards in an arc. When they struck nothing he scowled. For nearly ten minutes Snap cautiously guarded his friend. Still the panda-man didn't reappear. Was he truly gone? Also missing from the vault was a diamond, the sword, and a pair of cursed bracers.

"Lousy time to quit Kevin," Snap said bitterly as he surveyed the room.

_**XxXxX**_

The year was 2001, and it was early January. In the city of Dubuque Iowa the news stations were still talking about a recent tragic event. Three weeks ago the hero known as Cold Snap had collapsed in front of a hospital. He'd driven himself to exhaustion. So much so that he'd reverted back to human while laying waste to a biker gang from Chicago. Two bullets had been put in the revealed hero's chest, one barely missing his lung.

That night hospital staff had been shocked to witness a human melt. It had been an ugly sight too. Doctors had tried everything they could think of. But it was all to no avail. In the space of an hour Sam Bricklebuster had become a flesh and blood colored pile of liquid on the operating room floor. A liquid which quickly ran down the drain before anyone thought to stop it. The funeral had been held three days after his apparent death.

That had been three weeks ago. And the world still mourned his loss. While not the most personable of heroes, Cold Snap had proven time and again he'd risk life and limb to protect even the smallest of child. Towards the end he'd become brutal. But before that he'd prevented countless murders. He'd stopped robberies and bombing attempts. He'd even thwarted his fair share of galactic and extra-dimensional invasions.

Yet always he had made time to visit children in hospitals. He had publicly volunteered at the homeless shelter on a regular basis too. And now he was gone. Even mother nature seemed to mourn his passing. A woman named Sandra Dearie had found in her swimming pool what appeared to be an ice sculpture of Cold Snap. It was deep in the ice, yet still quite visible.

The sculpture had formed spontaneously over the last three days. Soon she planned on donating the sculpture to the local museum in honor of a great man. But something kept stopping her. Each day more and more details could be seen in the ice. A camera had been set up after the first day to catch the event for posterity. And yet Sandra doubted she would ever do anything with the film.

Some things were just too personal for public viewing. And this felt like one of them. Even her family didn't know about what had been going on. This seemed more like a miracle. But why her pool? The only reason there was anything in it currently was because her tarp had been stolen just before the last snow storm. And with how warm the temperature was starting to get, the sculpture was likely to melt soon anyway. Already the ice on the sidewalk was beginning to turn to icemelt.

The next day Sandra was amazed to find the ice in her pool wasn't melting. In fact it was actually thicker. Work took priority though. As she returned hours later thoughts once again returned to the pool. She walked out back and began to watch as the ice sculpture formed once again. Today however something unusual happened. Something that no one could have predicted in fact.

The ice was starting to crack. Then finally it shattered. As ice chips flew in all directions the sculpture moved of it's own violation. Then to Sandra's shock the ice sculpture abruptly became flesh colored. Now instead of a man of ice, she was facing a completely bald and unclothed man. A man who was laying amidst the frozen rubble without a care in the world.

"Oh my!"

Years of nurses training came to the fore in an instant. Sandra dropped into the pool and checked for a pulse. Finding one, she marveled at how cold the man's skin was. Yet his pulse was still strong. Breathing seemed even too. Where he came from was a mystery for another time. Who he was, that was fairly obvious. And yet it was also an impossibility. Sandra had been working in the ER the day he'd been brought in. She'd watched this man's death. Yet here he was still alive. Or maybe alive again.

The middle aged woman brought her unexpected guest in and carried him up to the bathroom. After filling the tub with steaming hot water she carefully eased the man into it. The hiss surprised her. When the water was frozen within thirty seconds Sandra's surprise became a full fledged panic. That was when he spoke.

"W-where?" It was a simple word. One barely stammered out. "Is this hell? No, not enough heat and fire."

From the sound of his conviction, one would think he'd actually seen hell at some point. He spoke as one who knew intimately what was talked about. Slowly he took in his surroundings. His anger and bitterness plain as day to Sandra. But even more, she could see the hurt he was covering. This was fate. Why else would this man, this noble man have found himself reforming in her property.

**Author Notes:**

Longer then I expected. Next chapter will at least in part continue the flashback. Also have to deal with Ranma's meeting with Bast. Anyway, Faerie Knight out.


	16. Catastrophic

"speech"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

_January 2001_

_Why?_ The man thought as he climbed out of a large meat freezer. It was fortunate it wasn't a latching model. Just one held closed by a magnetic seal. Thus it was easy for him to emerge. It had been cramped, but no worse then he was use to. Of course there had been the problem of it being air tight. That was solved by changing into living ice. After all, ice doesn't need to breath. Nor does it need to eat, but try telling his stomach about that.

None of which answered his question. _Why did she help me?_ Since awakening the previous day the man had discovered he was officially dead. His identity was also now public knowledge. Seeing one's own grave was rather disturbing. They had even built a gaudy statue. Not that he'd ever have wanted them to erect that monstrosity. No, it was more a monument to greed and wanting to make money off his death. A fifty dollar fee just to enter the park.

It had almost been like someone had the plans already drawn up and were just waiting for 'Cold Snap' to die. It disgusted him. Some rich man had decided to turn his grave into a tourist attraction and amusement park. After all the times he'd saved the world, some unknown businessman was using HIS name to make money. If he'd had any faith in humanity left, that alone would have destroyed it.

Another thing that disgusted him was that he'd failed even to die properly. Suicide had it's appeal. But he just couldn't do it. Even with all he'd lost, with all his hardships the man just couldn't bring himself to end it like that. So instead he'd ran himself to exhaustion. He'd taken risks and not been as careful as he should have been. Until he'd finally slipped up. He'd gotten hurt badly. But the hospital hadn't known about his condition. They had not moved him to a refrigerated room. Instead they had operated as normal.

As the end came the man had thought it was finally over. He'd thought he would finally be rejoined with his now dead wife. It was doubtful he'd ever understand why she'd followed him. When the portal had appeared the man had selflessly strode through it to face an impossible foe. He'd done so to save not just the earth, but all of creation. He'd done so after rescuing his wife from cultists intending to sacrifice her. Anna should have been safe.

But she'd followed him. Anna had grabbed an assault rifle from one of the downed cultists and followed. She'd attacked Apsu headless of the danger. And now she was gone. _What use is living without her?_ The man thought in despair. His hostess guided the depressed man towards the kitchen table, and put a bowl of cereal before him. But he couldn't eat. How could he eat when Anna wasn't there with him?

"Care to talk about it?" She asked.

He'd not caught her name. Hadn't cared to ask either. The man looked up at the woman with dead eyes. There she was, a middle aged woman. Why did she care? She'd obviously not slept the previous night. Her dark brown hair was a complete mess. She still wore the nurse outfit from the previous day, wrinkles and all. She didn't know him. And yet she cared for his well-being. Why?

"I hear talking helps ease the pain."

_Present_

_He's floating in absolute darkness. How long has he been here? He doesn't know. Where is here? That he also doesn't know. What about how he got here? This question finally receives an answer. It's not one he likes though. He'd been trying to train. Attempting to recover what a stupid panda had stripped from him. And then that thing had shown up. At first he'd thought it human. He'd been wrong._

_That was no human. It was a monster from the depths of hell. It must have been sent to consume him. That was it. It had to be it. But before the creature could attack Ranma had retreated. And in his retreat he'd opened a gate that normally was kept firmly sealed. There was only one way to save himself from those demonic creatures. He had to unleash It against them. That was the only thing that worked._

_He didn't know exactly what to call It. It had been with him ever since the pit. He hated and feared It. Each time it was released Ranma feared it would refuse to go back into it's cage. Or he'd emerge to find It had killed someone. What was It? He wasn't entirely sure. It was as large as him, and had black fur. At least he thought It did. Sometimes the fur was red though. He'd never gotten a good look. But It had claws and fangs. It scared Ranma almost as much as those furry demons it protected him from._

_Now the darkness is becoming lighter. At first it's imperceptible. Slowly the inky blackness becomes a dark gray. Then a lighter gray. Eventually the area is well lit with a soft white glow. Now for the first time he can see where he is. There's a wooden floor beneath him. Walls on all sides are also made of wood. The room is rather large. On the walls he can see mounted swords and spears._

_A dojo, he's pretty sure it's a dojo. But it's bigger then any he's ever seen. So big in fact that he can't see where a door is. Where is the cage? There must be a cage that normally holds It captive. But he doesn't see one. In the far distance something enters. As it does a shiver travels up Ranma's spine. It has returned. Now he can see It clearly. It's coming closer and closer. Oh dear kami, it's the biggest furry demon he's ever seen!_

_What's worse, it seems recognizable. He could swear It's face looks a little like his own! Okay, so it's covered in fur and feline. But other then that it seriously resembles his face. It approaches him, and starts to (shudder) purr. It did something next that to Ranma's knowledge had never happened before. Something he didn't think It could do. Something that proved It to be much more then just the monster residing here. It spoke._

"_Kind One want talk. Want to help. Kind One no hurt. Promise. Other talk Kind One? Please?"_

_He blinks slowly, then falls backwards. On hands and feet he crab walks away, his rump never leaving the wood floor. A wordless scream leaves his lips as he retreats in panic. Simple monsters after all don't speak. Thus It is no mere monster. It must be a demon! It shaking it's head sadly isn't noticed. Nor does he register when It's tail droops. The only thing that matters is the horror._

_There's no cage. Maybe there never was a cage. If so, that means It was always loose. This idea sends shivers down his spine. Unable to handle such a thought, Ranma does the only thing left to do. He's still far away from any and all walls. He can't entrap It either since nothing is there to trap it in. All that is left is to faint. And faint he does. His head would have made a noise as it struck the floor. Instead his body fades away even as he collapses._

The first thing Ranma noticed was warmth. It was a comforting warmth, but still not something that should be there. Next he realized his body was curled up on that warmth. _Akane?_ He thought muzzily. Then his eyes flew open. Akane wasn't around, so who's lap was he on? He tried to jump to his feet. However due to his father's careless wish the agility Ranma normally had was stripped from his male form.

Instead of landing gracefully, his feet got tangled together. As the youth collapsed in a heap he heard a woman's voice chuckling. As he got to his feet Ranma found himself falling three more times. Only then did he notice something was off. Very off in fact. His center of balance was not where it should be. Looking down, he saw not arms, but a pair of black furred legs ending in paws.

/"What's going on?"/ The youth exclaimed.

Only to his ears it sounded like the noises those dreaded creatures make. In panic he felt something behind him stand strait up. He also felt fur that shouldn't be there bristle. It wasn't enough to trigger the dreaded neko-ken. After all, Ranma didn't know what form his body was in. But that, whatever, behind him was rather distracting. Without warning the altered teen began to turn in search of the object.

A length of black was there, wiggling. Determined to catch it and find out what that was, Ranma started after the object. Since it was apparently connected he spun in a circle without getting any closer. /"Saotome Ranma doesn't lose!"/ He meowed loudly and continued chasing after that black worm like object. _Arrg, it wont stay put,_ he thought in frustration. A couple feet away, the goddess was watching in amusement.

"Are you having fun?" She asked finally. "If you're about done, I still need to speak with you."

This finally brought Ranma to a stop. Bleeding off momentum might have helped out. Yet the teenager was unused to having to do so. Especially while running on four limbs instead of two. Forward propulsion ended, yet momentum kept going. This caused the feline form to tumble end over end. Ranma struggled to his feet. Then he laboriously turned towards the woman. _Who is she? And what's going on?_

Now that he wasn't distracted, Ranma tried to approach the woman. Instincts for walking on two legs however don't always translate well when one's form changes. And balance training for two legs never translates well when dealing with four. The transformed martial artist struggled to achieve a two legged stance, only to repeatedly fall on his face. With each failure the low hisses got slightly louder.

His folly was ended without warning when the woman picked him up. That she did so as if he weighed a couple pounds at most wasn't lost on Ranma. Nor was the fact that she was petting him. It was difficult to grow angry with her though. The petting felt rather good. Soon enough he was purring, much to Ranma's chagrin. Where the throne she sat in came from, he probably would never know.

"Now then, I am Bast. And I am here to try helping you, young one. I've already spoken with your other side. Now it's your turn. And before you ask, no I haven't cursed you. Your current form is a gift."

/"A gift?"/ The cat hissed angrily. /"You call this a gift?"/

"Of course," Bast replied. "I admit you may find it disconcerting right now. But I hope soon you will be able to see it's advantages. Besides, it's only fitting for my champion to honor me with their natural form. Is it not?"

Ranma's hissing became a low growl at this.

"Please, calm down and let me explain. There was a time when us gods would chose a mortal champion to represent us among mortals. For some this was done by having children. For others they would chose worthy men to fight in their name. For myself, I have long favored my children. I would find worthy felines and bless them with a portion of my might. I would grant them the ability to pass among humans. To them I would charge the protection of mortals.

"But humans grew jealous of my champions. They sought a way to tap into my essence them selves. They found ways, but at a heavy price. And in my anger I withheld my protection from mankind. You child have suffered one of those methods. But unlike many who covet the power of gods, you abuse it not. What you have stolen is used to protect, not hurt."

/"S-stolen?"/ Ranma would have blanched at the word, if the fur wasn't midnight black.

"Yes child, but I know now it was not your fault. Who did it to you? And which method was used? I need to know if I am to punish the real thief instead of you."

It was only then that what this woman had previously said sank in. _'Natural' form? But I'm not a c-c-c-furry demon!_ He almost said that aloud too. The only real thing that stopped Ranma was how much his own voice was creeping him out. It was taking every ounce of willpower he had to not revert to the neko-ken. It was only the fact he couldn't see his own image that prevented such a state. He was activity trying not to realize what his form was of.

_Galaxy Police Holding Facility_

In another place and time Nabiki Tendo might have ignored the threat of legal trouble. After all, she knew the law inside and out. It was her plaything. Something to be bent and broken with impunity. But that was before a purple skinned woman had entered her home. Before she'd been dragged off planet and thrown in a cell. In the past evidence was easy to get rid of. And no one was willing to testify against her.

Now though she wasn't even sure if there would be a trial. Or if there was, what sort of trial it would be. No lawyer had come to speak with Nabiki. No bail had been set, not that she could pay it most likely. And she wasn't even sure what the charges were. She'd done nothing to any nobles. Unless you counted the Kuno family, which Nabiki didn't. The teen had never even heard of anyone named Masaki.

If there was any consolation, it was that the amazon girl was also in deep trouble. But again, Nabiki had no idea why. Or what had changed. A situation she didn't like one bit. For someone who's lifeblood was information, not having it was almost criminal. And to be unable to gain any, that was even worse. Ah, but how to learn? That was the question that most vexed the Tendo girl.

Nearby Nabiki could see Shampoo and her grandmother talking. What they were talking about, again she had no idea. After all, she didn't exactly speak their language. It was clear however that the elder was not happy. And an unhappy elder was quickly proving to be an even less happy amazon teen. Which was making Nabiki unhappy as a result. Not because it was her concern. No, it was the racket that girl was making.

"If you try to break through that wall one more time, I'm billing you for every single wall you've broken in the last three years."

**Author Notes: **

Apparently the story was getting too serious or something. I wasn't intending on this chapter being a mixture of depressingly serious and comical story lines. I wonder what it is about Ranma that causes humor to crop up in even the most serious of tales? And in the most unlikely of places to boot.


	17. Divergence

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

_"What if I don't want it?"_ Meowed the nekofied Ranma. _"Stopped wantin ta learn the neko-ken after first time in pit. You say it's stolen? Take it. I don't want it."_

Bast looked down at him with a slight frown. That this mortal youth didn't want her gift came as a surprise. After all, it was mortals who had decided to try stealing it to begin with. Knowledge of how it was stolen seemed an unintended byproduct of being told 'no'. But out of all the methods of stealing her power, the one stated seemed the most horrific. It was a ritual no one should be subjected to. Not the human, and not the felines.

Even then, it was more torture then a magic ritual. For centuries Bast had been trying to find out how and why it worked. And no one had been able to find a reason. Not even Enki, a god of magic knew for sure._ If I knew how that method worked, I could reverse it like with the others. But as it is I haven't the foggiest, _Bast thought to herself. _As I recall, that method I punished by making the thief terrified of my children. _The now feline teenager for his part simply glared.

"That... could be difficult, young one. The most I can do is remove your fear, and give my approval."

During their chat Ranma hadn't noticed that the woman's face had changed. By the time he did, his mind was in too much turmoil to truly recognize what he was looking at. The only thing that managed to penetrate the panic was the fact the woman said 'no'. Nor was Ranma being returned to human form. It was only by supreme willpower that the panicked youth didn't realize his shape. After all, denial wasn't just a river in Egypt.

The sound of a soft mechanical hiss diverted some of his attention. There in the doorway was the man slash woman Ranma had come to know as Sensei. The man looked worried about something. He was also clutching his chest as if in pain. Sam's gaze fell upon the cat headed woman. Sighting her caused him to shake his head back and forth. _Great, divine visits. Again. This is the last thing we needed right now._

"So Bast, what brings you here? And what did you do with the girl that was training?"

"What girl?" The Egyptian goddess asked in mild confusion. "The only one here was a young boy who possessed some power stolen from me ten years back."

Sam almost laughed. "Did the boy have black hair in a rather severe pigtail, piercing ice blue eyes, and favor a red silk sleeveless shirt with black silk pants?"

The large feline looked back and forth between the two without comprehension. The proclaimed Bast found her confusion growing. As far as she knew, the boy was unknown to the people living and working in this mansion. Ranma quickly grew bored watching them. He moved off to the side and pondered his martial arts. As well as how he could integrate them into this body. Regaining human form seemed unlikely for now after all.

From the other side of the training room two figures raised eyebrows in surprise. "Samuel, is he doing what I think he is?"

"I'm not sure," Sam responded. "I'm pretty sure I've never seen a house cat that large. Let alone watched one trying to preform what appears ta be tai chi. Gods damn that's impressive. Take it that cat's Ranma then?"

The goddess struggled to contain her laughter as Ranma once again fell on his furred face. "Do you not mean 'god damn', as in singular?"

"Not on your life furball," Sam Bricklebuster snorted with a chuckle. "Met too many gods and goddesses in the last twenty years. An I won't give unearned respect, so shove your asinine pride. Now change the boy back."

The goddess of cats was still struggling to control her laughter as she replied. "I can't. It is up to my champion to figure out how to balance his two natures."

Sam's chuckle died abruptly when the guest mentioned the word 'champion'. The aforementioned and unwilling champion was currently trying once again to balance on his hind paws. And doing rather well at it, surprisingly. In point of fact, the feline was defying physics and biology to do so. If Sam didn't know better, he'd swear the cat was changing shape before his eyes. Still, he glared at Bast angrily.

"Leave him alone Bast. Things are too fucking bad as it is. We don't need you gods screwing the kid over. Too many do that already. Next thing we'll be having gods for some alien fuckng race harassing us over the kid too."

As Ranma fell once again his body shifted fully into a cat once more. Much to the amusement of Bast. Sam ignored it though. He fingered a pendent around his neck shaped like a Nordic one handed war hammer. As he did so Sam thought upon his own experiences being a champion of the gods. _I wouldn't wish that on anyone,_ he thought grumpily. _Had enough blood on my hands before that happened._

Bast merely continued chuckling. "I merely gave my blessing. The kitten already had the role. He stole it in fact. Or rather was forced to steal it. Now, I have other things to do. I'll see you later Samuel."

With that the goddess vanished.

_**XxXxX**_

/"Where on earth am I now!"/ A teenage boy of Asian decent shouted.

He was speaking a somewhat hodgepodge dialect of Japanese. While still understandable to people who also spoke the language, his exact regional origin was impossible to pinpoint. The youth was wearing an orange long sleeved shirt with black kung fu pants. Around his waist was a thin black belt, and yellow cord bound the bottom of the pants to keep them from tripping the man.

What called the most attention to this youth though was his present location. It was some sort of hallway, that much the boy could figure out. The walls, floor, and ceiling appeared to be made out of metal. He couldn't see any doors either. For some reason the boy also thought he felt lighter then he should. He approached one of the walls, fully intending to break a hole through it. The wall appeared to vanish however.

To the boy's eternal shock, he found the wall didn't lead to another hallway. Not even to the outside. At least, not the outside as he thought of it. Instead he saw blackness stretching to infinity. And within that blackness were pinpoints of light. He narrowed his eyes at this. _Surely this is a trick,_ he thought. But if it was, the trick was rather elaborate. The scene before him was slowly rotating. Soon he saw a large mass of rock appearing. But before that happened something else cropped up in the field of vision.

/"That can't be,"/ the boy said with awe. /"How did I get here?"/

/"That is what I want to know,"/ came a growling voice from behind the boy.

_**XxXxX**_

The man's name was Jim Moor, although no one around him knew that. For a man in his early forties, he was in remarkably good shape. Although his hair appeared to be prematurely gray. Or rather it was as white as snow. Not that it was anything new. His hair had always been that color. The middle aged man wasn't exactly that strong, or stocky. Although he could certainly take a hit rather well. Nor was he known for his agility.

He in truth was rather tall and lanky. It wasn't even a keen intellect which drew attention to him normally. No, that wasn't what caused him to make the rank of detective either. It was his people skills. He could get people to open up far better then many of his fellow officers. And what he lacked in raw brain power, he made up for with rigorous training. His methodical approach to an investigation tended to get results.

What Jim was not known for was his acting skills. In fact, he had none. Which is what made this current investigation so dangerous. Not too long ago he'd been called back to the station to investigate a murder within the precinct house it's self. Once there he'd found all the officers dead. Yet they had been standing outside the building, somehow. So now here he was, pretending to be his own doppelganger while trying to figure out why his co-workers had been murdered.

And he knew this couldn't go on for too much longer. Already some of the others in this hidden base were beginning to question his actions. The only real lead Jim had managed to find was who the murderers were. It was a cell of the group calling themselves 'the soldiers of America'. Not that they actually were part of the military. The SoA were high tech terrorists, at best. At worst they were would-be world rulers.

The Society had faced them many times in the past. And each time Jim and his friends had barely defeated them. Many of those victories, Jim had no personal recollections of. All he knew is that frequently a third of the team ended up in the hospital, himself included. And now they were up to something major. While he didn't know what it was yet, this latest plot was bigger then anything the Society had dealt with before.

_Time to leave_, he thought as Jim finished bypassing the security system. While his knowledge of such was extremely limited, his meta-human abilities compensated. Who needs complicated programs to find a password when you can go through every permutation by hand within thirty seconds? But that only helped with bypassing locks and disabling alarms. Computer hacking was not his forte.

Which was why a minute later a black streak was racing through the subterranean halls carrying the backup hard drive for the base's database. Enchanted steel flashed in the blur's wake. Behind it's progress support beams collapsed, blocking hallways. His path had been carefully laid out to avoid heavy traffic areas. While he knew that death was possible in both his lines of work, Jim hated it.

He'd much rather apprehend someone alive then put them in a body bag. And so he'd taken steps to minimize the loss of life in his exit. Leaving quietly had been a better plan, and one he'd originally intended to use. Then an alarm had sounded as Jim had removed the hard drive.

Through it all Jim realized something else. His secret identity was no longer going to be a secret. Not to the SoA, and not to anyone else. Jim Moor was currently believed to be dead by the SoA. And when the sole survivor of the massacre showed back up again, along with Streak's reappearance after vanishing for several weeks the secret would be out. Especially since Jim had made sure the mass grave got discovered. The world knew his precinct was murdered and impostors were staffing it.

_**XxXxX**_

The morning after Genma's break in found Moth approaching a house she'd not seen occupied in her entire time living on earth. The Smith home she knew hadn't been lived in since the late sixties. Not since it's owner had abandoned his civilian identity to spend all his time as Mister E. It was a choice Moth could understand. Maybe not agree with, but understand. Being a law officer everything Moth was. But even she knew to take time off now and then. No one in the Galactic Police could handle the stress of the job twenty-four seven. And she doubted humans could either.

Moth knew local law officers also took vacations. Sam and Jim both had private lives not tied to their tights wearing identities. Although Moth thought Jim was a fool to spend his time both in and out of costume as a law officer. Sam worked part time in a computer repair shop. Cree spent his spare time in his workshop. When he wasn't out on some contract or helping the Society that is.

But not Kevin. He lived and breathed crime fighting. The man practically never took off his costume. _To be fair, he has thirty copies of it,_ she thought ruefully. But the past few days he'd barely been at the mansion. Moth finally had tracked him down to this nearly abandoned house. To her surprise the door was unlocked. Cautiously the extraterrestrial cop entered. The stench in the air nearly gagged her upon stepping across the threshold.

The ground was littered with hundreds of glass bottles and tin cans. Picking up one of the bottles, Moth noted the label said it was 'jack daniels'. A local alcoholic beverage she knew. As she made her way through the first floor the initial assessment went up. _There's thousands of them. Is he trying to kill himself? What could push Him to this? He's always been the rock of stability that grounds everyone else. Mother Forest preserve me, was I really going to just leave with Kevin in this state?_

_**XxXxX**_

Her Mate was still sleeping. As was their cub. Normally that meant she would also be sleeping. After all, it was still daytime. And she preferred being active at night. The young woman known only as Amy felt disinclined to return to slumber however. There was a new scent in the air. It smelled delicious too, although Amy wasn't exactly hungry at the moment. Maybe later she'd go hunting. But for now she was more curious then anything.

It took almost five minutes of fumbling to put on the fake skin the Alpha insisted she have on. Although Amy could partly understand why. It was much warmer in the cold times with the fake skin then without it. The fake skin also cut down on how blinding light striking her was. Other then that she didn't really see the need for it. The fake skin hampered movement to a degree, and was hard to get around her wings. It also felt uncomfortable when wet.

She dropped to all four limbs and started exploring the mansion once again. Every now and then Amy would pause and sniff the air. Eventually she found herself in an area normally kept off limits. In the center of a large metallic room she found the biggest cat Amy had ever seen. Not a forest cat either, but a glass jungle cat. But Amy had never seen one nearly four feet long before. Nor had she seen one moving quite like that.

_It is food, right?_ Amy thought as she padded closer. While not really hungry yet, the size of this delicacy made her mouth water. Amy's wings started to flap, lifting her into the air. Then without warning she sped towards the over-sized glass jungle cat. Her hands reached out to grasp the tasty prey, only to clutch air instead. A swipe by the glass jungle cat's paw clearly missed.

Fire still lanced through the hunter's side though. The paw didn't connect, yet Amy had felt claws rake through her left flank. The agony distracted her to the point Amy didn't notice the wall in front of her. With a sickening thwack she impacted and slid to the ground. The large cat stalked towards her, and looked very angry. It's black fur was standing on end with it's tail bristled.

**Author Notes:**

Sorry for the cliff hanger(s). Things are starting to pick up a bit. But this chapter is already getting long in the tooth compared to what I try for normally. For the final section, a bit of clarification. In Amy's animistic thought process a house cat (feral or otherwise) is a 'glass jungle' cat. She thinks of cities as glass jungles after all. Heck, to her buildings are odd above ground caves.

And no, I'm not gonna be giving Ranma super powers. The abilities everyone knows about from the neko-ken are the 'stolen power'. This means the chi claws that shred nearly anything with ease, the heightened agility, and so forth that Ranma has in the neko-ken. The transformation into a rather large house cat isn't exactly a super power. The cat form IS his new 'natural' form thanks to the goddess, while taking on human form is a gift from Bast.

Is it Canon? Heck no! But then again canon leaves it wide open as to what exactly the neko-ken really is. After all, being tied in fish sausage and thrown into a pit of starving cats wouldn't give you super powers. It would kill you, drive you insane, or both. The chi claws are most definitely a 'super power' type ability. So something beyond what physically happened must be part of the neko-ken.


	18. Test

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Pain! So much pain! And it had happened so suddenly. One second she was stalking prey, the next her entire world was agony. And what's worse, that large glass jungle cat was still batting her around. One of her wings had already fallen off due to becoming useless. And the other one was about to do the same. Which seriously confused Amy. After all, the glass jungle cat wasn't even hitting her. Was it?

The feral woman found herself unable to escape. Unable to defend herself effectivly. So she did the only thing her instincts said might work. Amy dropped to the ground and rolled onto her back. With a pathetic sounding whine she begged for mercy. If she'd had a tail, it would have been firmly planted between Amy's legs. As it was she exposed her throat in a sign of submission.

To Amy's confusion the glass jungle cat didn't seem to understand. It was preparing to strike again. Thankfully one of the pack members called out. The cat looked towards the Cold One, and nodded. With her life spared, Amy got ready to leave. Then she heard the glass jungle cat speak.

"_This sucks, why'd that woman do this to me?"_

It took her a moment to puzzle out what was said. She didn't talk to cats very often after all. Mostly she just ate them. All they talked about was fish anyway, normally. And they tasted so very delicious. The cat curled into a ball and was quickly asleep. Amy took the chance to flee. Maybe that bear was nearby. She still wanted to eat it. She'd never tasted a black and white bear before.

_**XxXxX**_

_It was dark when Ranma opened his eyes. Unnaturally dark. He recognized this darkness. It had been experienced too often after all. In the distance the inky black was slightly lighter, so he made his way in that direction. He'd been walking for nearly an hour before he finally realized something important. Ranma was not walking on his hands and feet. He was upright once more. Not quite understanding why this was important, he shrugged and kept walking._

_Soon enough he came to a vaguely familiar building. It wasn't one Ranma recognized, yet he felt he should. As he entered the young man spotted a woman who obviously was from his homeland. She wore her raven hair in a tight bun. Her clothing was very traditional. In fact he mused the woman would have looked at home in the fourteenth century easily. The only thing off about her was a colt forty-five belted at her waist._

_She turned and smiled warmly. "Greetings, I have been wanting to speak with you."_

"_Whatcha want?" Ranma demanded angrily._

"_I simply have a few concerns," She told him. "For a few years now I have kept an eye on you. Mostly for my own amusement, I'll admit. But I have noticed you taking pride in one event in particular. Why do you take such pride in murder?"_

_His face darkened at the accusation. "I don't. I did what I had ta, and regret what happened every day. If only he'd let me pass. If anything had happened differently. But no, he forced my hand."_

_The woman glared at him. "And yet you bragged about killing. Why?"_

"_It ain't the fact I killed. Saffron is a god, or so he claimed. Might be, I donno. He's powerful enough ta be one I guess. And I beat him. That I'm proud of. Not killing."_

"_No," she said. "What you faced wasn't a god. A dangerous foe who you got lucky against, but still not a god. Do you want to know what it is like to fight a god? I can show you."_

_He didn't have a chance to answer her. Instead Ranma found himself being bowled over by a black cat almost as big as he was. It sat on his stomach and started to purr, much to his displeasure. While Ranma normally would have been terrified, for some reason he found himself just a little nervous. Even then it was the size of the feline that worried him, not the fact it was a feline._

"_Now this is interesting," the unknown woman said. "That isn't a persona. I wonder what she is then?"_

"_S-She?" Ranma stuttered. _

"_Never mind that, it's time for you to wake up. We'll talk later."_

_**XxXxX**_

_Crap,_ thought Detective Moor. _This isn't New York, where am I?_ His eyes searched the immediate area, but it was to no avail. Other then the now collapsed tunnel entrance, he was in a primordial forest. It was still earth, of that he was sure. Or at least it was an earth. The coast line had resembled what he was familiar with, but without any cities. It was like Moor had been thrust back in time. _Hold that thought, is that a.. Oh crap it is!_

"You have got to be kidding me," Jim Moor sighed as he sprinted away from a tyrannosaurus rex.

_**XxXxX**_

Morning found him curled on the floor still. But the air felt a bit chilly. At first he didn't know why. Then it hit the young man. He was human once more. And not only that, but he needed to dress, quickly. Fortunately he had an option available. After fighting Mousse for so long, he'd managed to pick up the basics of the hidden weapon style's trick. Or at least, Ranma was fairly sure he had.

A problem quickly became apparent to him. Actually, it was more like two problems. The first one was that Ranma needed something on to access his storage space. The other problem was that he couldn't even see the opening to it. The panda's wish had stripped his access to the storage space from Ranma while male too. It was yet another thing he could fairly blame Genma Saotome for.

"What happened ta what I wore yesterday?" Ranma mused as he started searching for some cold water.

To his surprise, the faucet Ranma had used the previous day was now gone. Exactly what that meant, he had no clue. When he tried the sub-basment's showers he found they too were out of commission. All the towels were gone too. And the spare outfit he kept there was missing. _If I didn't know better, I'd think someone did this intentionally._ _And why does the lift __go into the kitchen?_ He mused as he reached the ground floor. The pneumatic lift hissed open as it arrived. And it was a blushing Ranma who emerged from it.

_**XxXxX**_

At the table was sitting a woman with short blond hair. She wore a red belly shirt and a matching mini-skirt. Her feet were encased in comfortable dance shoes. Around her waist was an old and well worn tool belt. Her name was Susan Swan, and she was not happy. Fifteen hours ago she'd been about to go clubbing. Then she'd gotten a call wanting her to travel half way across the country to do some repairs.

It was entirely too typical of an event. And at the time Susan had been sure she would have to pay for the plane ticket herself. She also was sure the money made for this 'repair' would probably barely cover the cost of the ticket. And that was being optimistic. So it'd been a surprise to learn her client was not only footing the bill, but supplied a supersonic jet for transport. When she'd arrived at the job site, the woman had been forced to pick up her jaw.

At first she'd thought the repair job would involve the Society's computers. No such luck could be had. Instead they wanted her to fix a few walls. So Susan had begun assessing the damage. She also found herself needing to get some research material. Carpentry was not one of her fields of expertise. In fact she'd spent all night in the kitchen reading books on how to build houses and how to repair structural damage to them.

"The Society's known to have some of the best tech on earth at it's disposal, and I get stuck fixing a few walls? This isn't fair," She whined while sipping her fiftieth cup of coffee.

It was then that the refrigerator pulled it's self into the wall. Where the kitchen appliance had formerly sat, a silver cylinder rose with a hiss. As it opened Susan got an eyeful of something she'd not expected. A young man was standing in the cylinder wearing just his birthday suit and a full body blush. Her wolfish whistle caused the man's blush to go nuclear. A fact which Susan was quite enjoying.

"What the? I know the water line was shut off!" She exclaimed as the sink erupted in a geyser.

Watching the cute man abruptly and for no apparent reason morph into an equally cute red headed teen caused Susan's jaw to drop. _Wha, where'd the mass go? How could, how did, I don't..._By the time her brain had finished rebooting the teen had already made her escape. It was a flabbergasted and disappointed Miss Swan who went over to the fridge. It was now back in it's proper place, with the lift sunk into the ground.

_**XxXxX**_

She was now clothed, but still completely mortified. It had been Rama's intention to sneak through the building to 'his' room and get some clean cloths without being seen. That plan had fallen apart the second the lift had opened. She had no idea who that woman was, but the reaction had been embarrassing, at the very least. Reaching the room assigned to her while at the mansion though had brought an even bigger embarrassment.

While Ranma had never owned much in the way of clothing, it had been hers. From the filthy travel worn training gi to the few outfits she'd managed to acquire since getting cursed it was all Ranma's. She'd bought them with money earned while on the road. Money earned legally, unlike what her 'father' had favored doing. Even the few dresses and skimpy playboy bunny outfit were Ranma's. Not that she'd admit to having paid for the bunny outfit. Or the small makeup case hidden in the bottom of her pack.

But the abominations in the dresser were **not** Ranma's. She had never seen them before. And wished to all that was holy that she hadn't seen them now. All her shirts had been replaced with hot pink Hello Kitty belly shirts. Her six pairs of boxers had been replaced with black lacy panties, the kind Happosai would have approved of. And then there were the matching bras. The only thing of Ranma's that were in the room were his spare combat slippers.

When she'd dressed, there had been a slight tingling sensation from the offensive garments. To her way of thinking, that meant magic. And magic never boded well. A bigger problem was there to be dealt with though. Namely the atrocious outfit Ranma had been forced to wear. As the apparent teenager contemplated being seen dressed as she was an epiphany struck. _I'd rather be a cat then go out like this. And I'm definitely not going around as a boy in these._

No sooner had the thought gone through her mind then Ranma felt something relax. Relax wasn't exactly the correct term. It was the closest she could come though. It was as if a tension had been released that hadn't been obvious until then. And with that release she found herself falling onto all four limbs. There wasn't even the tingle that indicated the curse triggering. Just one moment Ranma was a human, and the next a large feline.

_Guess Pop's sign technique will be useful after all._ It was a few minutes later that the red furred cat strolled into the kitchen. And there was that woman, again. Without thinking the cat whipped out a wooden sign and held it in the stranger's field of view. /"Hi, I'm Ranma. Sorry bout this."/ it said. The cat then flipped the sign around. /"Could you help me out?"/ Flip /"I kinda don't have thumbs,"/ Flip /"And need some breakfast."/

The woman blinked in surprise and looked at her coffee mug. "Where did that sign come from? And more importantly, how did it get four messages with only two sides?"

She grabbed the wooden sign and started examining it. Sure enough one side said 'I kinda don't have thumbs', while the other side said 'and need some breakfast'. Which again begged the question of how the messages had kept changing. She could see no signs of any buttons or other technology. Nor were there any methods to allow a cat of any size to hold and flip the sign.

"How?"

To her amazement the cat pulled a second sign out of no where which read /"Breakfast, please? Still hungry."/

"But how, sign, where?" The unknown woman repeated like a broken record.

/"Martial arts technique"/ The current sign read after being flipped around. It flipped again and read /"Anything Goes Martial Arts Panda Sign"/ Flip once again /"Created by an idiot."/ Flip /"Food, please?"/

A female voice came from the hallway. "Never thought I'd see the 'great' Susan Swan left speachless. Morning Ranma."

A new sign appeared in the cat's paw which read /"Morning Sensei."/ It flipped over and now read /"Food please?"/

Sam's eyes widened at the performance. "Okay, now that is damn impressive. How are you even holding the damn signs? And where the hell do they come from? Wait, never mind. Don't care. Can you change to human yet?"

The cat thought for a moment, then flipped it's sign around yet again. /"Yes, sensei."/

"Good, then after breakfast I want to spar with you. Wait, since when could you understand English?"

At that the large cat merely blinked in confusion.

XxXxX

An hour later found the red furred cat and Sam Bricklebuster in the training room once more. They stood across from each other for a minute. Then the elder of the two gestured to continue. So Ranma searched for that feeling that had gone away. Finding it, she tried several times to force a change. Finally she found something that worked. It turned out the change to human required holding a mental image of being human. Holding the image didn't take much concentration. In fact Ranma could do so without thinking about it.

To her immense gratitude as well as displeasure the outfit from before reappeared upon becoming human. When the other apparent teenager saw the outfit, Sam fell over laughing. Which put the sparring match off again. This time for twenty minutes while the middle aged crime fighter regained her control. "Laugh it up," Ranma muttered darkly. Only to freeze upon realizing it hadn't been Japanese that was spoken.

"All right, this is a no holds barred match. I want you to use everything you can." Sam finally said as she transformed into living ice.

The two 'teenagers' stood apart for several seconds. Then without warning they moved. Cold Snap was about to berate her student upon watching Ranma leap into the air. Hands moved to catch the leg expected to descend. Only to have the wrists grabbed in a surprise reversal of intentions. With a display of agility which was quite impressive flipped Cold Snap into the air, then landed on her feet.

Without giving time to recover, the student surged forward with her foot flying out. The intention was to take advantage of her opponent's helplessness while in the air. Snap didn't seem to understand what was suppose to happen however. Instead of taking a kick to the solar plexus a pillar of ice rapidly formed and struck Ranma in the shin. This provided all the leverage that Cold Snap needed to flip right-side up and land safely.

An icy hand started to crackle moments before electricity shot out. The target however wasn't there. Then Ranma materialized with arms blurring due to sheer speed. The ice maiden at first redirected the punches. But they were coming too fast even for her superhuman reflexes. So instead she ducked and swept her leg in an arc. Having the leg sweep casually stepped over came as no great surprise.

What did was the avoidance turning into a snap kick with no warning. It struck, and Cold Snap spun around from the impact. The force of the spin was then turned against Ranma as a fist came arcing around in a surprise backhand. A petite arm flew up in reflexive defense. While it still stung, that was all the consequences. A hand flashed out at superhuman speeds. What Ranma intended to do however was quickly negated. Even at the impressive speed being used, Cold Snap still managed to lean to the side just enough to avoid being struck.

An ice slick materialized beneath Ranma's feet, and she found it hard to get any traction. That problem vanished within seconds. A set of energy claws had formed on Ranma's feet, easily sinking into the ice covered floor and providing stability. A hand lashed out with fingers spread apart as if raking the air. Cold Snap leaped over the slash with a flip. She landed behind the student with ease despite the ice on the ground. Her own hand lashed out as if a claw, this time striking Ranma in the small of the back.

Another flip bought Cold Snap some breathing room. This was used to fill the air with shards of razor sharp ice. Ranma turned around in time to see them, and her arms blurred once more. In the space of a second all twenty projectiles were in Ranma's hands. Two seconds later they were flying back towards Cold Snap. The cursed hero weaved through the shards mid jump, twisting and contorting to harmlessly pass through them using even the slightest gaps.

A ball of blue energy met the ice figure head on. The force of the impact sent Cold Snap flying across the room. She flipped in the air and pushed off the wall. In one hand a baton of ice formed, while the other quickly generated a ice pole. The pole was used to adjust trajectory even as the club swiped through the air at Ranma's midsection. Unsure which was the threat, Ranma kicked the pole and shattered it. For her trouble a bruising impact struck the girl's kidney.

XxXxX

Two figures sat in a booth above the sparring student and teacher. One was Moth, the lavender skinned law officer. The other was a man of middle age. He was unshaven and wore rumpled cloths. The other notable thing about the man was that despite stinking of alcohol, he was sober. But not for lack of trying to get drunk. It just hadn't worked. As fast as he consumed the stuff, his body negated the buzz.

"You say they've been at it an hour?" The man asked.

"Yes," Moth answered. "And it doesn't look like they plan on stopping. At this rate they're going to destroy the training room. I have to say though, the kid has good instincts. Mother forest preserve us, that's the twelfth tornado today. No, make that fifteenth. By all that's holy, the kid is _braiding_ tornadoes now? And he does this with just training? It is unbelievable."

"No Moth, what is unbelievable is that Sam just dodged them by weaving between the vortexes."

**Author Notes:**

Longer then I expected. The initial scene took my normal allotment of 3 pages per chapter. But I did want to get this sparring match in. I'd love to describe the entire 5 hour sparring match. I'd love to, but I wont. At this rate the chapter would be twenty pages if I did so, easily. After all, what I described was about 30 seconds of the match.

You might wonder what the difference between how Ranma starts this off and a jump kick is. With a jump kick you are putting everything you have into one aerial attack. It's a huge gamble. If it connects the damage is tremendous. If it misses, you've left yourself wide open for a few seconds as you recover.

A leap attack however isn't quite the same. You aren't focusing everything into one powerful blow. You are merely launching a normal attack mid-air. In the anime for Ranma ½ you can kind of see the difference. When Ranma drops Kuno on the way to school, or surprise kicks Happosai he's using a jump kick. It is his preferred combat opener for a reason. It's a very effective attack.

When he and Genma are sparring and throwing multiple punches/kicks mid-air they are using leap attacks. As well as defying the laws of physics. But then that's just one more law Genma habitually breaks.

Jump kicks in and of themselves aren't the flaw I mentioned before that Ranma has/had. It's his tendency to dodge nearly everything. Even if he'd be better served redirecting the attack, he tends to dodge whenever possible. This is the flaw. While it's not a major one if fighting someone slower or a worse fighter then you are, it can cost you the fight against someone as skilled and/or fast as you.

It's to break that habit that Cold Snap decided to train Ranma.

Oh, and since it's not obvious... This story takes place an unspecified amount of time after the manga ends. Ranma is likely in his early to mid twenties. His cursed form however still looks to be about 15 years old. Maybe 16 now. I am using a similar take on the curses as in the story Destiny's Child. Maybe not a case of "will be immortal in cursed form", but the cursed form never appears to age. The body does, but not the appearance.

This is why Cold Snap's cursed form appears 16 or so, when he's in his late 30's.


	19. Message

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

"I'm... not... finished... yet..." Ranma panted as she laid on the floor.

Her obvious exhaustion gave lie to the claim. There wasn't enough energy to stand. For that matter, she didn't have enough energy to even roll over. Let alone sit up. But she wasn't alone. Next to her laid the woman of ice. Cold Snap too was so exhausted that movement felt like a torturous idea. That neither was hurt beyond a few bruises and minor scrapes was a minor miracle. Especially considering the training room was in shambles.

It was a true testament to the skill both combatants had displayed. The thing bordering on impossible was that Ranma's cloths were not torn. Despite all the shrapnel, electric blasts, and being slammed into and through walls, the skirt and belly shirt were still in perfect condition. Nor had she lost the slippers at any point in time. It was an odd dichotomy considering that Cold Snap's solid white bodysuit was torn in so many places that it only just barely maintained any modesty.

"Damn kids should know when to quit," Cold Snap muttered between breaths. The ice transformation was reversed as the exhausted lady struggled to sit up. Once her breath was finally under control she addressed Ranma. "Listen kid, I think you're ready now. You've got some serious talent. There aren't many that can keep up with me these days. Especially without using metahuman abilities."

Ranma eyed the figure warily. "Thought ya said I ain't nothin special?"

Sam nodded. "It's true, any truly dedicated martial artist trains under their master anywhere between six to ten years. Sometimes longer. Only then do they head out to find their own way. I'm not talking bout people like Van Dam or people who go to group classes twice a week. I'm not even talking bout the people who compete on tv. I'm talking serious people like myself. There's people out there who focus so heavily on their style they never even saw a car till they left the monastery.

"You aren't special when it comes to serious martial arts. Accept it, get over it. You're good. Damn good at that. But there's always gonna be someone better then you. Someone else may have a style that exactly counters your specialty. Your opponent might know techniques that give them a huge advantage. Against others, you'll have the clear advantage. Take Emerald Avenger for instance.

"He's just as agile as you. But his style can't take advantage of that. Everything he does, it's pure training. No natural talent. Hell, if I studied his style instead of the one I did my clumsiness wouldn't matter at all. He also learned things my training doesn't include. Things like how to defend against a chi master. And I'd swear he has eyes in the back of his head. No one can sneak up on that man. And Emerald is just one person I can point out. There's hundreds that I know about. Still more I don't.

"Some perfect their skills because it's a matter of life or death. Others for the love of the art. Some seek power, while others are searching for enlightenment. Me, I spent eight years of my life training every waking moment that wasn't spent in school to try improving my coordination. It worked, sort of. Still can barely walk usually, but in a fight I'm able to move easily. I've then spent almost twenty years honing those skills still further."

Ranma's eyes were wide as she was told more. Things she'd seen over the past few weeks started to click into place. Ever since it had first been demonstrated Ranma had been trying to figure out how her sensei generated ice and threw electricity around. So far she'd been unable to figure out the trick. Buts he was sure there had to be one. It also called to his mind the training journey.

Until he'd encountered the Amazons, Ranma had never really encountered any 'special' techniques. The neko-ken didn't exactly count since it had been a liability. The chestnut fist was really the first real special technique she'd seen, let alone learned. And it was more of a training method then technique. The more she thought about it, the more his ten years training in the family style struck Ranma as spending ten years mastering just the basics.

It wasn't until Ryoga figured one out that Ranma had been able to preform a chi blast. And then it was only by watching what the lost boy did, and trying to copy it. But that green garbed loon had negated Ranma's chi attack like it was nothing. And it wasn't done by using a counter attack either. At least, not one Ranma could detect. That loon had done something with his chi, that was for sure. But it had been too quick to really see what. Nor had there been an emotion attached to the chi.

Which now that she thought about it raised the question of just how you access your chi without channeling it through an emotion. There had to be a way, but what was it? That knowledge she realized might give insight on how to copy Cold Snap's special techniques. Especially the one where her sensei encased him or herself in ice without having movement restricted. That one offered a lot of protection, so Ranma thought it would be good to figure out.

While still mulling over these new ideas Ranma asked "What do ya do anyway? An what's it got ta do with me?"

"To be blunt, I save lives. I'm out there almost every day risking everything just to keep innocents safe." Sam told her student. "And frankly, I'm not getting any younger. None of us are. Kevin's quit, although I can understand why. Moth probably will retire soon too. I've been expecting that for a while. Me and Jim still got a few active years left. But this is a young person's job. I'm almost forty. I've seen shit and done shit I'd never want to experience again.

"And one of these days, I'll screw up. Or maybe some punk will get lucky. Not many of us live to retire. Kid, the problem is that the world's constantly in need of saving. There's always some would-be conquer to stop or murderer to catch. The people of the twelfth dimension invade, or Elvis returns as a vampire... again. My point is that this world need's your skills now more then ever. It needs people willing to risk everything for the life of another."

"So?" Ranma asked pointedly.

"Listen kid, I'm trying to offer you a place on the team."

_**XxXxX**_

_Now this is interesting,_ a figure garbed all in black thought. He was standing before what looked to be a long abandoned military base. The insignia for SoA was on several buildings, but the paint was long faded and pealing. He could see old and rusted tanks, as well as giant robots which resembled a bullet on legs. Beyond that, he found skeletons. Lots and lots of skeletons. From the remains, it was clear something had been gnawing on the bones.

"Maybe here I can find some clues."

_**XxXxX**_

Ranma glared at the belly tee and mini-skirt she was wearing. The day had been going peacefully while she thought over Sensei's offer. A day spent as a male at that. The entire wardrobe had to be replaced. The new cloths weren't quite what Ranma preferred, but still better then that pink crap. Except that the horrible outfit reappeared in the dresser an hour after being burned. And when the curse had finally activated, Ranma's jeans and red tee shirt got replaced with the monstrosity that wouldn't go away.

In one hand the young man turned girl held cup filled with warm water. Not hot, never hot these days. Warm did just fine for changing back, thank you very much. It was with some relief that the cloths changed back along with the curse being deactivated. _Kami, no! That tingle, I ain't never getting rid a those things am I?_ This time Ranma felt something inside the bra that shouldn't be there. She reached in and pulled out a sheet of paper.

_Play nice little kitten. _

_I hope you enjoy your new battle dress._

After rereading the note six times Ranma began to hiss at it. Yet again magic was interfering with her life. And being called a kitten didn't help matters. _I'm twenty-three, what's with everyone assuming I'm a kid?_ Things were quiet, at the moment. So Ranma decided to try meditating, again. Not that it ever seemed to help. All it usually did was either put her to sleep, or make her unable to spot the attack that inevitably came.

Even living in America these last few weeks hadn't changed that. The chaos that surrounded Ranma's life refused to abate. An early morning jog would be interrupted by some lunatic in spandex causing trouble. Or a seven foot tall hotdog would attack her new high school for reasons unknown. The last time she'd tried to meditate some woman in a purple thong and halter top had started lobbing random fireballs into the area.

It had been happening so often that Ranma had been taken to a building to 'register'. She still didn't understand the importance of that. So now her cursed form was officially known as Knight Mare. The need for a code name also didn't make any sense. But one of the ladies at the office had commented how Ranma was like a knight in shining armor. And since her name meant 'wild horse' in some translations, the code name had been assigned. Mostly due to the cursed fighter not picking one for herself.

She was trying to meditate, which meant something was bound to happen. And sure enough something did. A translucent ninja appeared before Ranma, running in place with his legs blurring. Who this was, she had no real idea. Why he had appeared was also an unknown. That this ninja was armed was immediately obvious. Yet he made no aggressive moves. Instead he just ran.

"_Whoever …... this, I …... part …... Society. My …. streak... ... help. The …... time …... trapped in …... invasion ... Washington."_

There was a muffled explosion, and then the ninja vanished as quickly as it arrived.

_**XxXxX**_

_After Action Report_

_Recipient: Lady Seto_

_Subject: Update on intruder in holding facility 1149_

_The identity of the intruder is as yet undiscovered. Inquiries on how the subject got onto the station have drawn a blank. According to security feeds one second the hall was empty, the next the intruder was walking down it. It is notable that the security feed cuts out for five seconds before the appearance of the man. By initial visual assessment this person may be from the crown prince's home island. This matches up with the language spoken by the man._

_Officer Torshi approached the intruder, causing the unknown man to panic and run. During the chase the intruder managed to break through eight bulk heads, and release a dozen prisoners. Among the escapees is the human brought in by Officer Moth for questioning regarding a missing noble previously thought dead. The exact location of both prisoner 97241 and the intruder currently is unknown. They both ran into the female toilet and vanished._

_The only clue currently on the invader's identity lies within prisoner 97241's interrogation transcripts. Mention is made of an individual known as 'Fuel' that is claimed to cross great distances without knowing it. Prisoner 97241 admits to using 'Fuel' to provoke the missing noble multiple times in order to collect wagers on the battle's outcome._

**Author Notes:**

Realized when reading over the description of Ranma's battle garb I'd forgotten any bottoms other then the panties. Oops, hopefully this chapter rectifies that a bit. As well as wrapping up one plot thread and bringing another closer to fruition. Unfortunately most of the actual investigative members of the society are either MIA or caught up in other events. It's just as well, I suck at writing an investigation.


	20. Interlude Two: Headline News

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

"_This is Crag Cragstien reporting from Freedom City. I'm here at the scene of an attempted robbery at the First Second Third National bank, and yeah I know that's nothing new. What is new is who stopped it this time. Which is a question on everyone's mind. Who was the red headed bombshell? At three-fifteen known terrorist Task Master managed to hold the bank hostage despite, or maybe because of, the on hand security forces._

"_Anyone else getting tired of how useless the vaunted 'security' actually is? While details on what happened are still scarce, it is known that a teenage girl appeared out of no where. In the space of thirty seconds this girl managed to apprehend Task Master with only minimal civilian injuries. A definite step up from the usual occurrences. One eye witness claims the young girl was wearing a red armband with the freedom society logo on it._

"_This is sparking widespread concern for the so-called heroes working under that banner. While the group once held a lot of respect, that was before the disappearance of Mister E. The press release staged earlier in the week has already caused a wide spread disenfranchisement with the so-called crime fighters. In recent years the Society has been drawing fire for staging many of the crisis they supposedly arrive to stop._

"_With their leader vanishing, it is becoming even clearer that these 'heroes' are nothing of the sort. The ease of which the Society's newest member has apprehended Task Master only supports claims the Society is a group of con artists and frauds. The only question remaining: Was Mister E a part of the scam, or a victim of it? This is Crag Cragstien for Fox News. We report, you decide."_

_**XxXxX**_

_A loud crack fills the air. In it's wake an armored police officer falls over bleeding. From cover a middle aged woman looks towards the camera. _

"_As you can see the situation is grim. While swat is on the scene, it's clear they are heavily out gunned. I for one wish that Mister E had not decided to retire earlier this week. Unless something miraculous happens, the death toll will likely continue to rise. Already twelve children and eight officers are confirmed dead. With a dozen more children trapped in the kill zone."_

_An Asian teenage girl with red hair casually walks past the woman and officers. She is wearing a hot pink belly tee and matching mini-skirt. The teen then starts carrying children to safety four at a time. On the way back towards the camera a Hello Kitty design can clearly be seen on the belly shirt. About half way through the task the reporter turns around again._

"_I'm not sure what's happening, but the children are vanishing. Now the injured officers have disappeared. Is this a new weapon being employed, or has help arrived? It's too soon to tell, but I fear for the worst."_

_Once everyone is moved to safety the teen returns and heads towards the clock tower being used as a sniper nest. More gunshots echo through the air, raising a dust cloud from the impacts. None appear anywhere close to hitting the teenage girl. She then jumps strait up the side of the tower. Several times the youth lands on a ledge or decoration before bounding still higher. Several crashing sounds can be heard, then a broken rail gun falls to the ground. This is followed soon after by two pistols and a shotgun._

"_I still don't know what's going on folks, but the police are starting to cautiously move forward. Oh my god! That girl just jumped out of the tower! I don't believe it, she jumped out of a fifty foot tall tower, and landed without any apparent harm! She's now handing a man to police. Wait, I am being informed that the Society has dispatched their newest member, Nightmare to help. Could this be her?"_

_The reporter raises a hand to her right ear and frowns. "I must make a correction, her name isn't 'nightmare'. It is Knight Mare, I am told it is a reference to both horses and medieval knights. Wait, where did she go?"_

_The camera clearly shows the young 'Knight Mare' casually walking away. It pans with her, only to lose track of the girl as she takes to the roofs._

_**XxXxX**_

"_It's been two weeks since the young 'Knight Mare' first hit the scene. And questions of who she is still haven't been answered. While it is known she works with the Freedom Society, not much else is. Eye witnesses are sketchy at best. Some claim her to be the newest speedster to appear. Others claim she is clearly what in some circles is known as a 'tank'. Namely super strong and able to take a lot of punishment._

"_Reports don't even agree on what she can do. Some say Knight Mare can jump incedible distances and possesses a level of meta-strength. Others indicate she is a projector, capable of firing spheres of an unknown blue energy. And yet another report indicates weather control abilities, as evidenced by the tornado she formed while fighting a demon last Tuesday. The only known fact about her is that Knight Mare is somehow connected to another new heroine going by the name Ice Lady._

"_In other news, there has been yet another sighting of the mysterious red furred panther stalking Freedom City. Animal control warns people to stay indoors at night. And if you see the panther do not approach it. Call animal control and remain calm. Officials say that while this cat has not harmed anyone yet, it is unwise to provoke it. They cite the fact this panther has clearly been subjected to some sort of experiment, and has energy claws."_

_The female news anchor looks directly towards the camera." For ABC news, this is Diana Reese saying thank you and good night. And don't forget to tune in this Sunday for an exclusive interview with Knight Mare and Ice Lady."_

_**XxXxX**_

Ranma turned to the man sitting next to him on the couch. It was one of the rare times Sensei wasn't in his cursed form. And for once, Ranma too could enjoy being male once again. Watching the nightly news wasn't his idea of fun. Especially that news about foxes. They dared claim he was a scam artist. And kept doing so too! Ranma would have gone out and challenged them already, except Sensei pointed out why that was a bad idea.

"Not sure bout an inner view," the pig tailed fighter said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"It's 'interview', and you really should do this. Right now everyone's guessing about your intentions. It's better to set the record strait."

"What bout those foxes?" Ranma asked.

"Foxes?" Sam replied. "Oh, you mean fox news. Ignore them, they try to create news and fake popular opinion any time facts don't agree with their damn politics."

"Still can't believe I'm forced ta wear _that_ outfit."

Sam snorted. "You think that's bad, the Tailor sent me my new uniform... I swear if there was any less cloth I'd be indecent. Almost there as it is. And of course she just _had_ to study one of your outfits. I swear, that woman's a god damn pervert. Where did she get a mage to cast that fucking spell anyway?"

Ranma just barely contained the laughter. He'd seen the 'outfit' too. It had been his idea after all. "Payback, ya forced me ta wear the atrocity that first day."

Across the room Moth was talking with the young girl slash woman known as Amy. Seeing the two men getting into another brawl, she sighed. This would be the twelfth couch _and_ television they had to replace because of those two.


	21. Reflections

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

It was night, and once again a red furred panther was stalking the streets of Freedom City. Sleep had been denied, so it had gone out for a prowl. But what really was annoying the great cat was why it couldn't sleep. The reason was simple enough, it didn't know who it was anymore. For most of the cat's life it had gone by the name Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome branch of Anything Goes.

That self had lived a carefree life of travel and training. And it had been a happy enough life, or at least the only life known. For most of the cat's life it had been a boy, and a human at that. All her identity had been wrapped up in those three facts. Martial arts, being a boy, and being human had been constants. Ranma was a 'man among men', or at least told to be one. It was also important to be The Best. And not just the best 'he' could be.

No, it had to be 'the best' out of everyone. Best of his generation, best ever. If he lost a fight, Ranma's baka father would beat him and call him a 'weak' girl. If he had nightmares, it was because of being a 'weak girl'. For ten years all traces of femininity got ruthlessly beaten out. The end result had been a two dimensional arrogant jerk, a mere caricature of a man. And then one day in the Bayankala mountain range everything changed.

With a splash one third of Ranma's stable existence was shattered. One splash, and the 'man among men' was a woman. At the time it had been horrifying. And it was made even worse just a few short days later. Not only was Ranma now a woman, but after visiting a rural village a girl wanted to kill 'her'. As for why her death was demanded, it was because of a stupid challenge. A challenge which Ranma had won.

Even that wasn't enough to truly break a person, although it came close. More recent events had been even more traumatic. For years she'd believed herself to be the best. No one had been able to beat her, or at least not more then once. Even people who claimed to be dragons or gods couldn't beat her. Not when it mattered at least. A few months ago that pillar too got shattered. The 'great' Ranma Saotome had lost three times in a row, and two of those times to the same person.

The blow to her ego had been great. What made it worse was that it hadn't been ancient relics like Cologne or Happosai who defeated her. No, it had been people close to her own age. People in their thirties and forties had been the ones to defeat Ranma. People using styles which she'd already mastered, or so the young adult had thought. At first she'd assumed they had to have some special trick they used to win.

Discovering the 'trick' had been a sobering experience. There had been no trick. There was no fancy maneuver or nearly unstoppable technique. It was just pure skill. Skill that made all her speed and strength useless. Three times Ranma had been able to spar against that 'emerald avenger' person. And each time they either fought to a draw, or she lost. And the worst part was, it wasn't because he could hit her reliably. It was because she couldn't land a single solid blow. Especially if he stopped using that weird spinning style of his. When he used basic kung fu, the man was nearly unstoppable. Put a weapon in his hands and it was even worse.

Back in Nerima Ranma had also been convinced she was a chi expert. According to Doctor Tofu before he'd left, she'd forgotten more about chi then most ever learned. So when she finally encountered a true chi master, the results had not been in Ranma's favor. Even with a talent for duplicating techniques after only seeing it once or twice, she still couldn't figure out how that green goof had done it.

All in all, the notion that Ranma Saotome was the best martial artist ever had been ruthlessly crushed over and over. But at least she still knew who she was, right? That too had been stolen. She had been stolen. There was no 'Ranma Saotome' at all. This fact alone had made everything ever believed into a lie. It had taken weeks to recover from that devastating blow. Weeks of questioning who she was.

This had left only one pillar standing to hold up who she was, the fact she was human. But now this too had been taken away. More and more it felt natural to be a cat. The embarrassing fear was gone, but that didn't help matters as much as she'd have thought. The mere fact of no longer being human was enough to cause some distress. Oh sure, Ranma could take on a human form, and mostly wore it.

Nights like this put lie to the action. She no longer was human, and never would be again. Similarly, being a boy felt more and more wrong as time passed. It wasn't that Ranma's personality was changing, although this too was slowly happening. It was more that being male felt off. And sometimes being male made her physically ill. Especially during _that_ time of the month. That had never been a problem before.

Then again, before coming to America she'd made sure to change back to male long before a month had passed. It was also a bit disturbing that it took increasing amounts of hot water to change into a male. A fact which made her wonder if eventually there would be no change. If eventually the 'curse' would be the only state. And if that was true, could she handle it? It was a question Ranma hated to think on.

A cry of "Where on earth am I now?" filled the air, which caused the red furred cat to pause her introspection.

She padded closer to the figure, and looked on. _Yup, it's Ryoga all right._ Seeing how many warrants for arrest he had was an eye opener. There was someone with the Hibiki though. _Nabs is here too? She smells like she's afraid. Why?_ The cat approached the two and rubbed her side against them. _I give em an hour ta stop petting,_ Ranma thought as she purred happily. _Oooh, that feels good!_ The purring grew louder as Nabiki began to scratch behind her ears. _Maybe two hours._

The feline nuzzled her head against Nabiki's hand a bit more. Then to the surprise of both fugitives it started to stand upright. Fur melted into the body as facial features rearranged themselves. The bone structure shifted and morphed in ways that looked exceedingly painful. Not all the fur receded completely though. Some changed nature and became a hot pink hello kitty belly tee with matching skirt. As proportions continued to shift and alter the two found themselves in the company of not a large cat, but Ranma in her female form.

"_I have several emergencies Ranma. Sam's already heading to the warehouse district to look into reported explosions, and I'm still tracking an escaped GP prisoner named Nabiki Tendo. You'll have to head to Metro General. I have reliable reports someone is going to try killing Cree."_

Ranma scowled as the message was relayed to her via the transmitter in her ear. Her eyes narrowed as they took in the Tendo girl's presence. Learning that Ryoga had hurt many people rather badly, and even killed a few had been shocking to say the least. While he was sure many had been accidents, it had been because of deliberately caused damage to buildings. Then there had been that subway tunnel Ryoga reportedly caused to collapse several months ago.

"Head to the hospital Moth, I got Nabs covered. Pig-boy's here too, where ya want em delivered to?" He tried to sub-vocalize.

_Still tryin ta figure out how I know english now,_ the girl thought. Watching Ryoga slip into an aggressive combat stance warned that she'd not been as silent as intended. As did the panicked look in Nabiki's eyes. _Stupid alien thingie._ She didn't have time to continue complaining though. Not only was Ryoga unlimbering that heavy umbrella, but Nabiki had started to run. This created a dilemma.

On the one hand, Ryoga was a clear danger to everyone around him. On the other hand it would be nearly impossible to keep him in one place for long. Then again, Nabiki was also a danger. She was just dangerous for different reasons. The Tendo woman would also be easier to capture and hold. _What bout those roaches Sam gave me? _A hand reached into a nearly invisible belt pouch and withdrew a small silver object.

With a flip the pink clad girl arced over Ryoga. One palm struck him in the middle of the back. After that she took off after the other. She could hear the other cursed martial artist screaming about hell and vengeance, then the screams stopped. _He's lost,_ she concluded. _And I lost her, I hate having to use that form._ Between jumps Ranma once again metamorphosed into a large red furred cat.

_**XxXxX**_

"RANMA! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" He screamed.

While Ryoga had no idea where he was, it didn't matter. This was his eternal enemy in front of him. An enemy who had attacked, then ran off like the coward he always knew Ranma to be. Would he actually follow through on the threat? Even he didn't know. After all, he'd yet to actually beat Ranma in a fight. Sure there was that time Ranma's strength had been removed. But that had felt like cheating. And only a real victory would satisfy his stolen honor.

"Wait, when did they put a desert here?"

_**XxXxX**_

"Well this is a fine mess I'm in," a white haired man muttered while staring at a now destroyed machine. "Stuck so far in the past it's not even funny, no real way home, and my only means of communicating with the others just blew up. At least I now know why the precinct was targeted. They somehow knew one of us officers was 'The Streak', just not which one. Figures. Till they can figure out where I am, guess it's gorilla warfare time."


	22. Awakening

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

_Three months ago_

Five shots, five hits. And this was despite having just jumped to the side and redrawing the beretta. He was good, and had aimed for non-fatal yet debilitating locations. So when the panda stood up and got on it's hide legs he was surprised. Highly trained eyes noted that there were only three crimson patches in the fur. And yet he was positive the other two had been solid hits as well

Realizing the fight could be harder then he'd expected, Cree drew the other pistol. For a fight like this was shaping up to be, he'd have preferred having a full arsenal. He'd also have rather had some body armor as well. When the panda started to wave one leg in an arc, he jumped to the side. Even as he flew through the air Cree was firing a .45 shell at the panda. Again it was a solid hit. The problem wasn't connecting, it was the fact the high caliber round had done no visible damage.

"Fight but no eat, Amy." He called out as the green skinned man dodged yet another nearly invisible blade of cutting air.

With that the feral girl sprang into action once again. As she flew at the panda head on, Cree moved to the side. He drew a bead on the same panda and fired his python once more. The reflexes of the panda were impressive. It managed to grab Amy and throw her in the path of Cree's aim even as he pulled the trigger. He wasn't too worried about the girl. After all, she was tough. Just how tough was anybody's guess though. Besides, he'd seen bullets of a much higher caliber bounce off her glassy skin.

When she cried out Cree got a little worried. Still, she's tough and he figured it wouldn't matter much. What he heard next sounded a bit like machine gun fire. Amy's body twitched from dozens of impacts, all too fast for a normal person's eyes to see. He could tell it had to have hurt, a lot. Then the panda was in his face. It had happened fast. There was a sharp blow to his stomach, and Cree knew he might be in trouble.

The panda was too close to fire at effectively, so the heroic mercenary flipped his beretta over and chopped down with it. Even as he did so Cree barely managed to block another viscous punch. A glance at the glassy female showed that she was still recovering from the beating administered moments ago. Then pain flooded the merc's entire body. He felt a femor snap in two from a sharp impact. Ribs cracked under the brutal assault.

A flurry of punches and kicks were rapidly exchanged. Most of them thrown by the panda. Then one paw smashed into Cree's temple with a resounding crack. The panda was raising a paw to finish the job. Just before his vision went dark he saw Amy standing over him protectively. His last thought was _I hope she can hold out._

_Five Weeks Ago_

The on-duty nurse scowled as a middle aged man entered the ward. He stank of alcohol, yet didn't move like he was drunk. Of course she recognized him. While the man's actual name wasn't known, everyone knew who he was. She'd grown up hearing stories of his exploits. And had expected her grand children would do the same. This no longer seemed the case for some reason.

The man was a costumed crime fighter, and a living legend to boot. But for the last few weeks he'd been coming every day, and spending almost the entire day sitting next to one patient. And each time he came, the man stank of beer and harder drinks. The media was already starting to wonder what happened to Mister E, and why he had seemingly vanished. Each day the nurse saw him, she wondered why this patent meant so much to the famed adventurer.

He seemed broken, and that was scary. If a pillar of strength like that man could become a mere shell of his former self, what did that say about society?

_Three Weeks Ago_

He'd actually done it. It was now official, 'Mister E' no longer existed. Earlier that day he'd given a press conference explaining why he was retiring. Now however he had a dilemma. That was 'what do I do with my life now'. His current plan wasn't working very well. He hadn't been able to get drunk in a couple decades, although not for lack of trying currently. Even the release of death was denied him. Not that there was much that could even hurt the man anymore.

He was still trying to drink himself into oblivion when Moth showed up.

_Now_

There was a lot of noise. At first it didn't make any sense. Slowly the jumble resolved it's self into component parts. Part one was a steady beeping. It was really close. The second component was crying. It sounded male, familiar yet not. Another part was intimately familiar. He heard gunfire and explosions. The tang of antiseptics was in the air. Beneath him an uncomfortable bed. His body didn't hurt though. Not like it should of from his last memory.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to close them again. The light had been too bright. It took a few tries to finally keep them open. When he did, the man was able to see who was crying. _What is Kevin doing here, shouldn't he be stopping what is going on?_ The sounds of combat ended finally. A lavender skinned beauty staggered into the room, her silk gown torn in many places. It was a shame, he knew how much those gowns cost.

"Hey there," he croaked in a dry voice.

This caused the woman to stop cold. With each passing day of the coma hope had faded a little more. Cree's people rarely left their home world. In fact, he was one of only three known to have done so. No one knew if he would ever recover, or if he did what sort of damage had been done already. It was only due to previous illnesses and injuries there was even a doctor qualified to treat a Bk'Tachka anywhere on earth.

"Anyone see the talark that ran over me?"

Moth knew what he was referring to, but Kevin didn't. "What is a talark?"

"Think lizard, only about thirty feet tall and sixty feet long. Big sharp teeth, native to a planet in the Orion sector." Moth told him. "When did you encounter one Cree?"

The green skinned alien winced in memory. "Month after my exile. Was hired to protect a research station from an 'unknown' threat. All I had was a spear, axe, and the first prototype of my energy bow. You?"

Moth too winced. "About a month before graduating the academy. The ship I was interning on crashed on their home world after a pirate attack. Half my class died. Thankfully some crazy merc managed to... That was you wasn't it?"

Cree blinked. "About twelve cycles ago, the planet of zner? Possibly. Now Kevin, why didn't you just grant me the ability to regenerate for a while?"

Kevin looked depressed at the question. "I can't do that, old friend. Something about your biology prevents it. Anything else probably could, I could. But not regeneration. I tried twelve times."

**Author Notes:**

Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm not quite sure how to extend this scene much further. This is in part a reaction to Crescent Pulsar's recent review. He/she is right, I don't clearly establish a time-line. I establish that several months pass throughout things, but not exact time-line. Nor did I cover how and why Cree got put in a coma if Genma had been shot multiple times. It kind of surprised me originally when things skipped ahead a few weeks and Cree was in the hospital. It wasn't planned. So here is a bit of an explanation, along with continuing the actual story. Next chapter will go back to what's happening with Ranma.

Oh, Cree's race is called the Bk'Tachka, and hail from the planet Bk'Tach. In the future I may do a flashback chapter detailing how and why Cree got exiled from his home world. I also will cover exactly why Ranma and Genma had to leave Japan.


	23. Sins of the Past

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

The teen known as Nabiki Tendo was worried. Six months ago things had been perfect. Well, maybe not perfect. It had been lucrative though. The chaos that surrounded the Saotome boy provided many opportunities to make a lot of money. No one else really understood how much money was involved. People assumed the betting pools and selling information was what brought money into the dojo. That was just pocket change compared to other endeavors.

So when the Saotomes had vanished she had taken it upon herself to bring them back. It wasn't urgent though. There were enough pictures and videos being sold world wide to keep her rich for a long time to come. It was just that she didn't like losing such a big cash cow. That her business enterprises were illegal in nearly all nations didn't really bother the teen. It hadn't until they started getting shut down systematically that is.

The ones in North America had been hit the hardest. The few reliable reports to trickle in from there had been unbelievable. Men and women in ridiculous outfits had been destroying warehouses and distribution centers. But never the same person twice. It was preposterous, yet it kept happening. Two names had cropped up during an investigation; Justin Case and Alex Rivers. Beyond those names very little was able to be found.

Accounts that should have been unknown and untouchable were either frozen or drained of all money. This alone had hinted someone was directing attacks against the Nabiki growing empire. Even the steady dismantling of an international network hadn't seriously hurt finances. There were enough accounts that survived to ensure a comfortable life anyway. Still, the timing had been suspicious to say the least.

The first reported raid had occurred two weeks after Ranma's disappearance. That it happened to one of the distributors in southern Japan made the youth even more suspect. One day things had been just fine. The next news reports spoke of a major raid against the yakuza. The funny thing was that the warehouse was one of her own. The pig tailed fighter hadn't been mentioned, so any connection was still unconfirmed. And from there things only went downhill.

Then three months ago a purple skinned woman had shown up at the dojo. And from there things had just kept getting worse. Now she was on the run after improbably escaping from an alien prison of all places. Which raised questions of just how she'd gotten back on earth. Since finding herself in this city the mercenary girl had witnessed things that should have been impossible. Chinese curses were one thing, but teenage girls made of living ice putting out a burning building were quite hard to take in.

_And to think, I didn't believe the reports before. _Nabiki would have scowled, but her energy was being saved for running away. _And how did Saotome pull that trick off anyway? What's he doing here, where ever 'here' is. Why was he a girl? And most importantly, why was he wearing that shade of pink?_ There didn't seem to be any pursuit so the young woman decided it was safe to slow down. Finally able to calm down, she reflected on yet another injustice.

"I can't believe Saotome _still_ looks like he did when he was sixteen."

A soft thump caused the woman to spin around. There was that oversized red furred cat again. Nabiki turned to run, only to find the cat had jumped into the new path. This time shimmering blue energy was extended from one paw. Nabiki slowly reached into a pocket, immensely glad that those aliens hadn't searched her. From the pocket she pulled a small cloth ball filled with catnip. After tossing it at the feline, Nabiki tried to inch away. The cat merely glanced at the ball.

With attention returned to the scared woman, the cat transformed into a teenage human girl with flaming red hair. "So that's catnip. Big deal. Now Nabs, time ta go."

Her tone indicated that 'no' was not a viable answer.

_**XxXxX**_

"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me!" Cried a busty teenager with blue hair.

She was staring at a warehouse, or at least it's remains. It wasn't that a warehouse had detonated that caused the outburst. No, it was the giant flesh eating dinosaur. That the tyrannosaurus rex was fighting a squad of paramilitary terrorists didn't help any. Briefly she considered calling in some backup. Unfortunately there was none. Too much had been happening, and the Society was already short handed. Sam Bricklbuster realized she was on her own this time.

"As if this damn outfit wasn't bad enough, now it's monsters and madmen at the same time."

She transformed into living ice with a burst of intense cold. Running forward, the recently christened 'Ice Lady' leaped once more into the jaws of danger. Mid step she created a seven foot long staff of ice. Placing one end against a piece of rubble, the heroine launched herself into the midst of the terrorists. Mid-air she flipped and brought the staff down upon the shoulder of one armed man. As the staff shattered the man collapsed.

Two of the armed men turned towards the newcomer. They raised their M16 assault riffles and opened fire. In response Ice Lady sprang into the air. Her legs opened into a horizontal split, causing booted feet to impact two armored heads. At the same time she shot her left hand forward. A bolt of raw electricity flew forth and struck the dinosaur in the snout before it could bite someone in half.

That the 'someone' would happily kill innocents didn't matter. To her, all life was sacred. While monsters were put down without mercy they were not that common, thankfully. At least they weren't in Iowa or New York State. Other places had far more trouble with them. Musings came to an abrupt halt as the large reptile tried to bite her in half. 'Tried' being the operative word. Ice Lady grabbed the top and bottom jaws in her hands.

She attempted to flip the dinosaur over. It's mass however proved to be too great. The great beast flipped the ice woman into the air, fully intent to snap her out of it. While a normal person would have been helpless, Ice Lady was far from it. She rotated in the air gracefully. Mid rotation a fifty pound block of ice formed in her right hand. Once facing the dinosaur again the ice chunk was hurled with all her weight.

Physics being what they were, the action caused her to travel backwards. With a tucked in roll the teenage adult flipped backwards three times. Her feet came to rest momentarily on a warehouse wall. With a push Ice Lady rocketed back towards the tyrannosaurus In her right hand a baseball bat of ice formed. With her left hand shards of razor sharp ice were launched at the terrorists. Several of them getting lodged in a bazooka that had been about to fire.

Small arms fire bounced harmlessly off icy skin. Then a couple rounds tore into her thigh. The force of the impact threw off the heroine's trajectory. Now tumbling end over end she found herself striking the t-rex in the stomach instead of aiming for it's head. An explosion told her the bazooka had been fired just seconds after she'd jammed it's barrel. Pained screams both male and female told her that people had been injured, possibly killed.

_No time for remorse,_ Ice Lady thought sourly. It was taking all her concentration to not only contain the dinosaur but to stop the terrorists. Which organization it was hadn't even been determined yet. The beast let loose a thunderous roar before swinging it's massive tail at Ice Lady. Inwardly she doubted it was a deliberate attack. That it was effective was beyond doubt. With a graceful flip she sailed over the flailing apendage.

Several more bullets tore into the heroine's shoulder as she swung the bat in a two handed strike. The force of impact caused the ice to shatter into a hundred pieces. It also caused a femur to snap into two pieces. The monstrosity collapsed to the ground still roaring, this time in pain. She smashed her fist into the creature's snout with all her might. Even as this was done five bursts of gunfire sounded. While all managed to connect, only two bursts of eight shells were able to pierce the armor like exterior of Ice Lady.

With a wince she turned around. In her left hand formed a tower shield of frozen water. Her gaze took in the five terrorists still standing, as well as the dozen laying on the ground. There were enough body parts to account for at least six others too. The uniform worn was solid black. A red flag was embroidered above the hearts of each man and woman. Within the flag was a blue and white fist. She recognized the insignia from multiple previous encounters.

"So you goons are from the so called 'soldiers of america' huh? Too bad you assholes never learn. I'm gonna enjoy breaking you."

Suiting actions to words, the cobalt figure sped back into the breach. While hard to avoid, the copper jacketed lead slugs impacted on the tower shield instead of her body. Once within hand to hand range the shield was smashed into the torso of one uniformed woman. While she was busy dealing with the woman another man managed to slip in behind Ice Lady. There was a sharp impact, and Lady heard the sound of metal breaking in two. A loud roar caused Ice lady to look back momentarily.

"Oh shit! It's still moving!" She exclaimed. Tapping her ear, the heroine said "This is Ice Lady issuing a code Jay alert! Any available heavy hitter is needed at the Jayhawk warehouse in Freedom City's south district! And hurry your god damn asses! There's a freaking t-rex here! No, make that TWO of them!"

Needless to say the four remaining terrorists had decided to flee.

_**XxXxX**_

Just outside of the Freedom Mansion stood a diminutive gnome of a man. He appeared to be quite ancient too. His dark purple body suit of an outfit seemed out of place however. Especially since it was day time. He'd been searching for a while for something taken away. Something which the old man felt was his by right. And now he had finally located it. In this (rather large) building was staying one who rightfully belonged near him.

That one Ranma Saotome didn't share that opinion with the old man didn't matter at all to him.

**Author Notes:**

In case people haven't figured it out yet, sometimes I give the character's views of an event rather then the purely objective event. Such as this old man chasing someone who he feels 'rightfully' belongs near him. It's not a given fact, but it's a personal belief by the one standing there.

And for some reason I should point out something. While Genma wont make another appearance (I think) in this story for the 'present' time period, his actions may strike some as actively malicious. For this story at least, he's not evil. Stupid as all get out yes. Uncaring about his son's well being, of course. But he's not actively malicious. Or at least he wasn't before. He deliberately mistrained Ranma to create glaring flaws in his style. This was done for ease of controlling the boy. For this story's world Genma's entire focus is his Retirement Plan. And that plan is to live off the sweat of Ranma's brow.

The consequences of his actions naturally enough barely cross the panda's mind. If they do so at all that is.

Reviews are always welcome. I do read each and every one of them. See a spelling error? Did I use the wrong word by accident? Let me know. Got some ideas or concerns? I'm interested in them. Insults and rants I tend to ignore. But constructive criticism helps me out. In fact the chapter detailing Cree's awakening stems from some concerns someone had. I used it to flash-back and show exactly what happened between Cree calling in, and Mr E arriving. The first interlude also had it's origins in someone questioning a story element. The next chapter will also be a result of concerns someone voiced. I'll be showing exactly how and why Ranma was forced to leave.


	24. Escape from Chaos part one

IMPORTANT: There are two new chapters with this one's posting. I just realized I'd forgotten to publish chapter 22 when I finished it. Thus you should hit "back" and read it first.

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

It just wasn't fair. One minute she was fine. The one chasing her had been lost, presumably never to find her trail. The next a cute red head in a garishly pink outfit had dropped from a roof in her path. It had happened so suddenly that Nabiki found herself running into the flesh and blood wall. The impact caused her to start falling, so the Tendo girl grabbed the closest object to try recovering her balance. It worked, but felt a tad squishy.

"I really wish you'd stop doing that."

The admonishment went unheeded though. With an annoyed growl Ranma pealed the offending hand off her chest. From a subspace pocket she retrieved a pair of hand cuffs. These she quickly forced on the escaped mercenary. It happened so fast one might not have realized what was going on. The next thing she knew the escapee was lifted into the air under one arm and was traveling over the rooftops at high speed.

A scream of terror echoed through the streets.

To be fair, Nabiki Tendo was not a martial artist. She'd never desired to be one either. That she left to her thug of a sister. So the experience was not one that had ever occurred before. The closest thing to this had been when Akane had destroyed the balcony outside her room. Even as the woman cried out in fear she was mentally cursing the pink clad lass. Not that it was doing much good. She was still being roughly carried to destination unknown.

Said destination rapidly resolved it's self. She saw a red brick building with a shield painted on the side. On the shield was an eagle, with the letters F C P D underneath it. Inside was a lobby of sorts, with a uniformed man sitting behind a plexiglass window. The man clearly recognized Ranma, and was smiling. _Not a good sign,_ the Tendo woman decided. _So very not a good sign. Wish I knew what was going on._

"Ah, what brings you here Knight Mare?" The uniformed man asked.

"Just need to drop off an escapee for now. Officer Moth says this woman broke outa a galactic police cell an made it here without stepping foot in a shuttle. Considerin who she was with, I believe it. The guy can cross da ocean without getting wet jus by walking." Ranma, or Knight Mare as she was apparently calling herself now, held a hand to her ear and frowned. "A dino? He's fightin a dino? Way outta my league. Anyway, where can I put her?"

The officer blinked a few times. "How about interrogation room five? All the holding cells are in use, and I doubt she'd last a minute if put in with the nightmare gang."

"Thanks Joe, any word on the green man yet? Moth said someone was going after him."

Officer Joe shook his head sadly. "Not yet Knight. I hope he pulls through. That man saved my son a couple years ago."

Five minutes later found Nabiki sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a small room. Across from her sat the apparent teenager who was actually in her twenties. The thought of escaping had occurred. It had been quickly shot down considering who was acting as her keeper. Then manipulating Ranma into letting her go crossed Nabiki's mind. This plan too died a fiery death. And from the red haired girl's expression it was best to keep it buried.

"No Nabs, your staying here. Donno what ya did to finally get caught. But I do know bout your empire. Got a friend looking into dismantling it too." Knight Mare said with a scowl.

"Fine then," she said with an annoyed tone. "Can you at least tell me why you left?"

Knight Mare sighed sadly. "It was you, Nabs. It's always you. Something happens, and you throw wood on the fire. Pops might cause problems, but you make em worse. Just like ya did the day I left."

_**XxXxX**_

_Six Months Ago_

_What'd that panda do now?_ Ranma thought as his, or rather currently her father made the wish. On the surface the wish it's self wasn't too bad. 'I wish my worthless son was no longer a weak and dishonorable girl', that was her old man's wish. In the baka's defense, he probably thought the wording was perfect. It clearly an attempt at removing the curse and making him easy to manipulate. After all, Genma Saotome honestly thought girls couldn't possibly be martial artist. He also loved to harp on Ranma being 'dishonorable' any time it suited him.

Namely it was labeled as dishonorable to actually think for himself. To question things happening around him. And most especially, Genma thought it dishonorable for Ranma to _not_ be his father's meal ticket. That honor meant little to his old man was a fact Ranma was well acquainted with. The only thing his father thought honor good for was feeding his own belly. That the Saotome name was already tarnished nearly beyond repair never seemed to cross the bald man's mind.

So what did the wish actually do? By all appearances it did nothing. Ranma found his sense of honor, right, and wrong had remained unchanged. Equally the curse was clearly still there, as evidenced by the fact he was currently a she. Still. Her skills were still intact. If anything Ranma felt her balance had suddenly improved as a girl. No, the wish hadn't cured the curse. And since the magic lamp had crumbled to dust whatever had been done couldn't be undone.

Angrily she kicked her father out of the bathroom. She had been in the middle of bathing when he barged in with the lamp after all. Ranma was still grumbling as she rinsed off with a bucket of cold water, again. _Now for a nice soak,_ she thought happily. This time the furo door was actually locked. Certain residents never bothered checking for the occupied sign anyway. Ranma started stepping into the furo, then screamed at the top of her, now his lungs.

When the furo door shattered the pig tailed man was sitting up and trying to wrap a burned foot. It was lucky that he'd fallen backwards. It had pulled the flesh from water that had clearly been dangerously hot. Shards of wood struck him in the back, easily ripping into tender flesh. This elicited yet another scream of pain. The cause of the door shattering had been the youngest Tendo sister, Akane.

Of the three sisters the youngest and eldest still lived at the dojo. And seeing the unclothed man Akane materialized a heavy mallet from thin air. With a cry of "Ranma no hentai" she brought it crashing down on his head with a sideways swing. It was an act that had been preformed too often over the years. Yet this day it had different results. Instead of merely knocking him out, it sent him flying across the room.

He struck the sink hard. While the sink shattered, it didn't fall around the man harmlessly like it normally would. Instead porcelain shards were embedded in his left arm and side. An arm that was now bent at an unnatural angle. _That... that's not normal,_ Akane thought with the beginnings of panic. Her anger had already been forgotten upon realizing that she'd just hurt her fiance. And hurt him badly from the looks of it. Then there was that foot. Now that she looked, it appeared burned. Almost as if boiling water had been poured on it for an extended period of time.

But the only hot water was in the furo. When she tested it, the water was no hotter then usual. Numbly she left the furo to call for help. At first she was about to call Doctor Tofu. Then she remembered he'd left a few years ago. So instead she dialed the emergency number. By the time an ambulance arrived Akane Tendo was rocking back and forth muttering the words "I'm sorry" over and over.

_**XxXxX**_

_Present_

"So the wish took your strength, big deal. I fail to see why a love tap would make you leave." Nabiki snorted.

"No Nabs, not just my strength. It took my speed. My agility was taken. It took my durability. It took everything. I'm lucky she didn't break my jaw. Or kill me. Just stepping into the furo gave me burns on my foot. Your sister's little 'love tap' as you called it broke my arm and three ribs. And what did you do? You sold the information that I was vulnerable to all my enemies. Same people who constantly try ta kill me, and you told em I couldn't defend myself."

_**XxXxX**_

_Six Months Ago_

_Just my luck, when I want cold water it's never around!_ As Ranma stumbled backwards he tripped over a garden hose. And that was all that saved him from being disemboweled by the katana wielding lunatic. He frantically tried to crabwalk backwards. Even the misses were painful. And the nearly blind amazons throwing swords and chains wasn't helping any. Pure dumb luck was the only reason the Saotome man was still alive even.

In just a few short meters he'd reach the dubious safety of the dojo. Not that it was safe either. No, there he'd have to worry about a psychopath of a fiance. While he might have once loved the woman, that love was long since dead. The only reason Ranma stuck around was because the engagement was a matter of honor. But then so were the others. And if any one person was chosen, people would likely die. Himself included.

Not a happy prospect. Yet not choosing also brought pain. Ranma had been trying for years to figure a way out of this mess. And now it seemed the way out was painfully simple. He was going to be killed by a madman and obsessive stalker. Raw steel found it's way into his stomach even as the dojo finally was entered. The lunatic was now boasting about how he had finally slain the 'foul sorcerer Saotome'. Police sirens could be heard. Then he knew no more.

When he awoke it was a surprise. His belly was on fire. Broken ribs hurt. And the fractured forearm hurt even more. And yet he was alive. Somehow he'd actually survived. Or maybe he hadn't and this was hell. It was impossible to tell which it was. There was a pressure on his chest. Tenitive examination proved they had been taped up. And the cast had been replaced with a full arm cast. So he'd survived. The fire in his belly told Ranma survival may not last much longer though. He was hurt, and hurt bad.

A nurse entered the room. For an unknown reason she tripped and fell into a bedside tray. It was only then that the pig tailed martial artist realized there was a styrofoam glass on the tray. It tipped over and knocked the plastic lid off. With detatched interest the dying man watched ice and water spill out. The water flowed and dripped off the tray. Because it had been hit, the tray was currently resting over Ranma.

As the water spilled a tingling sensation engulfed his body. Suddenly he could once again feel his chi flows. And with the restored chi flow he subconsciously focused it on his belly. During a ten year training trip many life threatening injuries had been acquired. Frequently they involved something puncturing his intestines or lungs. A common object was a branch or sharp rock from being thrown long distances. Other times it had been wild animals tearing open his gut.

All of which meant that for years Ranma Saotome had been able to channel raw chi to heal nearly fatal wounds within his own body. It wasn't an ability one could teach. Not reliably anyway. Ever since the neko-ken training he'd had the ability to some degree. He didn't even know how it was done. All Ranma knew was that with his curse activated, he was no longer dying. That did nothing for the renewed agony caused by shrinking bone and shifting fractures though.

"Aaaaaaagh!" the now teenage appearing martial artist screamed.

He, or rather she wasn't the only one screaming. The lovely nurse had also screamed and fled. The closest hospital had been in the one in Takamatsu. It was clear they hadn't been warned of the curse. Or if they had been warned, they hadn't believed it. Either way there was a panic. Since she still couldn't move too well Ranma turned on the tv in her room. It happene to be on a local news broadcast or something. She rarely paid attention to those anyway.

"_And in other news a local has been arrested on charges of assault and attempted murder. No names have been released at this time for the suspect, although inside sources say charges are likely to be dropped. The victim was a local celebrity named Saotome Ranma. Saotome, age 24, is currently the only known master of the Saotome Anything Goes style._

"_Saotome Ranma is most known for saving the life of Emperor Akihito two years ago. Little is known about the enigmatic man, save that he practices an exclusive family style of martial arts, and that he is wanted for questioning in connection with a string of thefts dating back twenty years."_

Angrily she turned off the tv. It was at this moment a doctor entered the room. The doctor was a middle aged man of obvious cheer. He looked over the bedridden teen and blinked. Shaking his head he picked up the chart and read it over. His eyes periodically drifted to Ranma before returning to the chart. Finally he replaced the clipboard and sat down. His demeanor had mellowed a little, although one eyebrow was still raised in amusement.

"So miss, who are you?"

"Saotome Ranma, sorry bout this," She said while scratching the back of her neck with the uninjured arm.

The doctor blinked again. "Excuse me? I thought Saotome was a man, not a teenage girl?"

Ranma sighed and shook her head. "I'm both actually. Curse from china. Cold water girl, hot water boy. No I ain't gonna prove it. Got burned trying ta soak in the furo. Sides, I'd be dying still as a boy."

_XxXxX_

_Present_

Nabiki blanched as she heard for the first time what had actually happened the day Ranma vanished. She'd heard Kuno bragging about how he had slain the 'foul sorcerer', and had dismissed it. After all, he made such claims every time the Saotome heir went on a training trip. Sure there had been blood near the dojo, but she'd thought nothing of it at the time. Nor had she seen any news of the events.

The first hint something had actually happened was that Genma Saotome too had disappeared. Even then two weeks passed before suspicions arose that they were gone for good. Clearly the Kuno fortune had been used to suppress the media, again. Privately Nabiki wondered where they got the money to do so. There were no visible sources of income capable of funding the clear riches of the Kuno estate. It was also puzzling how the Saotomes had managed to reach America.

"Why did you leave? Why come here anyway?"

"I left cause I had to Nabs."

_Six months ago_

It was only three days from when Ranma had first awoken. Already the pain in her stomach was gone. His ribs were still tender, but well on their way to healing. And the multiple times broken arm too was almost healed. They would have recovered completely, but multiple times a day something happened causing the gender uncertain person to switch forms. Each time had hurt like hell. And with each change to male all healing seemed to stop. Or so it seemed to Ranma.

Still, he'd finally been allowed to leave. The young man had also finally learned at which temperature water now became dangerously hot. Anymore anything warmer then the bare minimum needed to trigger the curse was too hot and would scald him. Since the hospital had Ranma registered as a man, when discharged he had to be male. Not that Saotome minded. He prefered being a man still. It was just that he needed to be female to recover from his injuries at a 'normal' rate.

Naturally his normal rate was far faster then what anyone else would have expected. Spending weeks to months recovering from a broken bone however was too slow. His enemies would find him long before that happened. While the hospital's staff wanted to study him to figure out how he healed so quickly, Ranma would have none of that. So he was currently walking back towards the Tendo residence a ward away. He would have taken the train or a cab, but money was an issue. Namely that Nabiki Tendo had scammed him out of what little he'd had a day before he was critically hurt.

Half way to Nerima the pig tailed man spotted a stranger being attacked. The man had short black hair. He was wearing light blue jeans and a white polo shirt. His shoes were tan sneakers of an indeterminate brand. The attackers were less identifiable. They were wearing leather jackets and leather pants. And from the way they were beating on the Caucasian stranger they were obviously thugs. Ranma Saotome had always hated thugs.

Without thinking he ran forward. Saotome pushed off the ground and lead with his right foot. The flying kick staggered the thug on the left, and made Ranma's leg feel a little numb. The second criminal spun around, a lead pipe in his hand. Ranma did his best to evade the clumsy strike. If he'd been a little faster it might have been enough too. As it was the pipe managed to clip him in the shoulder.

Ranma spun with the force of the impact, allowing the motion to absorb most of the kinetic force. It still hurt though, a lot. The man he'd kicked had recovered by this time. He didn't notice this fact initially though. The first indication was when metal struck the back of Ranma's skull. He was dazed from the unexpected blow. Normally when he struck with a flying kick like he had, the person stayed down. At least they did if they weren't Happosai.

The man in the polo shirt grabbed the first goon that had first struck Ranma and flipped him over a shoulder into the brick wall. The brief respite let Ranma shake his head and clear his vision. Seeing lead once more hurtling towards him, Ranma flipped over the still standing mask wearing thug. His left foot snapped out in a vicious side kick which sent the man flying head first into a wall.

The two ski mask wearing criminals looked at each other. As one they yelled "RUN!"

The polo shirt wearing man bowed respectfully towards Ranma and offered a hand. "Thank you for assisting me, kind sir. My name is Blair Jason. You have saved my life, and for that I am in your debt. Is there any way I or my agency may help you?"

The man's Japanese was impeccable. In truth he spoke the language better then Ranma himself did. A fact that Ranma himself too realized and felt embarrassed about. He rubbed the back of his neck with his good arm and chuckled softly. That he was being rude escaped the young man's attention. Then again, a lot of things frequently escaped Ranma's attention so one more wasn't all that special.

"I'm Saotome Ranma, sorry bout this." He introduced himself.

_Saotome Ranma, now where do I know that name from? _"You have done nothing wrong, why are you apologizing to me?"

"Cause I jumped inta yer fight," Ranma said.

He'd realized this man was probably a fighter from subtle clues in his movement. That, and the throw he'd used was rather impressive. Few people Ranma had met over the years could do such a trick. In fact, only one came to mind. Which indicated to him that was a very high level technique. One Ranma was eager to learn. _Maybe I could convince him ta spar_, Saotome thought excitedly.

"Nonsense," Blair said with conviction. "They jumped me from behind. If you hadn't came along, they likely would have killed me. Now tell me, is there anything I could help you with? I feel I owe you for saving my life, and I always pay my debts."

"Not less ya can tell me where Nabs gets her money." Ranma said dismissivly.

"Who is this 'nabs'? If I had a name I would be glad to investigate her for you, free of charge even." Blair said with earnestly.

His answer caused Ranma to blink six times slowly. "Tendo Nabiki, ya had ta have hearda her."


	25. Escape from Chaos part two

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

_The Present_

"But why didn't you return?" Nabiki Tendo asked incredulously.

Knight Mare shook her head. "Whats the point? Yer sister almost killed me. Kuno almost killed me. How long till someone actually did? An ya just sell everyone info bout me. Don't even live at the dojo no more, an still betray me regularly. Why Nabs? It ain't for family. Blair-San told me what he found. So why ya do it?"

_How do you tell someone they were just a means to an end?_ Nabiki thought to herself. _How do you let them know you're just using them for entertainment. The money's nice too. How do I convince him to go back with me?_ It was a question she'd not thought would be needing an answer yet. But need one it did. And no answer was forthcoming. Nabiki stared into eyes which already had seen too much. They weren't the eyes of a martial artist anymore. _Those are warrior's eyes._

_Five months ago_

There were many things Ranma Saotome was expecting. He expected his father to disown him. He expected the 'official' fiances to track him down. He expected Ryoga to pop up out of no where any day now. He even expected it to rain any second now just because he was currently just that, a man. And that was a state that was becoming increasingly rare. Of all the things that he expected, the two that had happened came completely out of left field.

The first had been when the man he'd rescued a week ago proved capable of investigating where Nabiki got her money. That was still going on, but already Ranma had been told some things that made the decision not to go back even easier. The other event had been when his father had shown up at the cafe Ranma was working at. He'd been able to get a co-worker named Ano to cover for him, thankfully.

The last thing he needed was for his greedy and dishonorable father to learn he'd gotten a job. Let alone one as a waitress. Honor and dishonor, that was another thing which Ranma found himself almost compelled to think about. Many of his fights while a teenager, and since then kept forcing themselves into his thoughts. And each time the gender cursed man found himself wanting. His honor was greater then his father's, but not by as much as Ranma would have claimed.

How many times had he used his curse to scam food venders? How often had he used Ryoga's curse as a weapon? He'd promised on his honor to tell no one of the curse, yet had continuously told everyone. It was amazing no one had actually put the extremely blatant clues together. He lied and cheated when it suited him to get an advantage over a foe. Even going so far as to pretend to love Kuno just to try getting his curse wished away.

"I should leave everythin and become ronin." He mused. "I should, but that wouldn't be honorable."

So here he was, walking the streets towards where his new friend said his dad was staying. The young man knew he was going to leave Japan. He had to, there was no choice. Already there had been a few close calls with various crazies almost finding him. He couldn't go home, even if he knew where that was. To do so meant to die. There were no two ways around it. His mother would likely claim his current state was 'unmanly' and demand that dishonorable contract to be carried out.

He'd already mailed off a letter from a different ward to inform his mother. In the letter he'd described his reasons, and why he wasn't giving his location. He'd considered not telling his dad where he was or going, but that too left a bad taste in Ranma's mouth. While his personal honor had always been important, it was only within the last week the young man truly found it binding. And that newly strengthened sense of honor refused to let him just leave.

"Yo Pops, come out." Ranma called as he approached the tent.

_Figures he would camp in a park. _The sometimes panda emerged from his weather beaten tent angrily. He towered over his son in an attempt to intimidate the younger man. The beer belly did little to add to his formerly imposing stature. The dirty white gi had seen better days. It had patches in multiple places, and a few holes that were probably new. The white handkerchief habitually worn on Genma's head was threadbare with age. The glasses hadn't changed much over the years though.

The panda-man looked at his 'guest' and blinked at first. With a growl he demanded "What are you waiting for, boy? We must return to the Tendo's right this instant!"

His son looked about to speak, possibly one of his standard insults, then snapped his jaws together so fast there was a clacking sound. "No, I ain't going back. Ya broke the pledge countless times already. Sides, it ain't safe for me there. Not ta mention I ain't lettin Tendo Nabiki betray me, again. Japan ain't safe for me now. Ya can come with or not, your choice. And fore ya say it, already informed Mother of my intentions."

"But honor demands," Genma began.

"That I not go back. Or were ya aware Tendo Akane almost killed me? Or that Kuno almost did too? Or that Tendo Nabiki's been sellin me for years?"

_**XxXxX**_

_The Present_

"Why did you wait so long to come here then?" Nabiki asked.

Knight Mare grinned as she answered. "Ya seen how much me an pops eat. Plus rent, plus savin for the trip? Took almost three months ta save enough. And the panda still managed ta take what shoulda paid fer a room for a month or two when we got here. And fore ya ask, never sent word cause a you."

The man turned heroine listened to her radio and shook her head. _Really wish I could help em. Hope Moth is enough ta help Sam._

_**XxXxX**_

Across the city a battle of prehistoric proportions was still raging. Ice Lady knew she was starting to tire. It was inevitable in a battle like this. The heroine was outmatched and knew it. The best she could do in such a situation was delaying tactics. Giant robots, alien invaders, and demonic hordes were no problem. But this one dinosaur seemed to shrug off everything she did. Including shattering it's legs. _It's almost like it regenerates when badly hurt. Wouldn't __doubt that either._

The first bit of help came from a pink humanoid robot known as 'vergo'. Ice Lady had been surprised to see the robot arrive. It operated out of Dubuque Iowa usually. So New York State was more then a little out of the machine's normal jurisdiction. If it was a real robot or just power armor was up for debate. Personally Ice Lady suspected it was power armor. The upturned bullet proof vodka bottle permanently attached to Vergo's mouth area reinforced that idea.

The robot was currently staggering around the battle field, clearly drunk. Or programed to act drunk. Yet somehow the t-rex kept missing every time it tried to bite or smash it. Lady threw a bolt of electricity at the beast's snout, distracting it long enough for another newcomer to the fight to move. She didn't know who this person was. Nor did she know what his game was. But the weapons were flat out stupid. _Who brings nerf guns to a meta battle? That's almost as bad as Peroski._

The newcomer was wearing a yellow body suit with orange stripes along the arms and legs. He wore an orange mask, and matching orange gloves and boots. On his chest was an orange plastic vest of nerf brand body armor. Something that hadn't been sold in stores for years. He had two yellow bandoleers that contained a combined dozen nerf dart clips crossing his chest to form an X. The man was currently holding what looked to be the company's battery powered 'fully automatic' assault rifle.

"Shake in terror, for you now face the Nerfinator!" The odd man proclaimed before opening fire at Vergo.

The pink robot didn't seem to notice the Nerfinator, either that or had disregarded him as a non-threat. Such notions proved to be somewhat wrong when the foam and soft plastic projectile actually caused the paint to chip the way a real bullet might. _Where do these crazies keep coming from?_ The comically armed man finally realized there was more then the pink robot in this battle.

As nerf darts impacted the dinosaur rapidly they actually seemed to tear holes in the beast's flesh. Within seconds the toy machine gun had expended the entire twenty five round belt of darts. Ice Lady meanwhile was busy trying to drag the creature away from allies and potential enemies alike by it's tail. It swung the great appendage, sending the ice person flying into the ruins of a wall. As brick started to collapse she noticed an odd looking machine with the SoA insigina..

"Now that's definitely out of place. Bet it's important too. Great, the Calvary's here. About fucking time. Ugh, haven't hurt this much in years."

A sonic boom reverberated through the area as something extremely solid struck the dinosaur in the chin. It staggered backwards before collapsing, at least momentarily. Seconds later the t-rex started to float weightlessly in the air. Officer Moth had finally arrived. _Who's with her? Is that, I think it is!_ Ice Lady wearily pushed the rubble off and approached her friends and allies. One of them was unexpected.

"So E, what brings you out of retirement?"

The person addressed finally managed to unbury himself. But it wasn't who Ice Lady had been expecting. Instead of a human about her height there was a really tall green skinned man. He was wearing hospital pajama bottoms and a hospital gown. And while the man still looked unwell, he'd still made it to help. A fact which was shocking. The last Lady had heard her friend was still in a coma.

"I am sorry Ma'am, but my name is not 'e'. It is Cree. I would have gotten here sooner, but I had some unexpected difficulty being allowed out of bed. Can you explain why there is a human firing foam darts at me?"

"No idea Cree, but he seems like the newest nutjob in town. By the way, why are they just bouncing off you?"

Not willing to take any chances, the woman of ice formed a protective shield and tossed it to Cree. He grabbed it, and used the construct to block the next dart. When the projectile caused chips to fly off he stared. Vergo had by now turned it's attention to Nerfinator, as had Moth. Seeing that he was now not only out numbered, but actively noticed, the yellow and orange figure started to run. From the volume of foam darts littering the ground, it was probable that the man ran due to running low on ammunition.

With no warning Cree collapsed to the ground. As his teammates surged forward to check on him the pink female shaped robot staggered closer. It hiccuped before falling over. When it had once more achieved a mostly vertical position Vergo turned from one form to another. It's mechanical voice at first was hard to understand. A drunk robot was an unusual sight, yet this one appeared to be just that.

"Whesh dis sha hinohaur hum shum?" Vergo slurred.

Since no one seemed able to understand the robot, Ice Lady directed his teammates towards the device she'd found. The violet skinned beauty turned a way from the others to address the loose cannon. She looked more then a little tired even though the day was still some what young. The galactic police woman shook her head and sighed. _Mother forest preserve us, working with this one is frustrating._

"Vergo, you should go and let us professionals deal with things. I am perfectly aware you would rather find more intoxicants to process."

_**XxXxX**_

_No one knows of the evils I fight. They call me crazy, perhaps I am. But I am the only line of defense. The monsters are real, they are everywhere. They possess children. They devour families. They want what's ours, I can tell. And so I fight. I fight because no one else will. They laugh at my weapons, but I am the only line of defense. I will protect everyone, Shadow people, fear my name for I am the Nerfinator!_


	26. Reacquaintance

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Ten years worth of bad habits are rather hard to break. Of course one first has to desire breaking them. And that was a desire Nabiki Tendo had never felt before. What had started as a way to keep the family fed had over time morphed into a thrilling addiction. Love of money and power had taken hold years ago. The more of both acquired, the more she desired them. It was an endless cycle which brought a lot of joy.

But it's said that all good things must come to an end. That said end would involve men and women wearing spandex was not something anyone reasonable would have expected. After all, everyone in Japan knew that reports of gaijin with super powers were made up to intimidate the weak. Magic wasn't real, aliens didn't walk the earth, and most importantly men and women do not fly under their own power.

Except the appearance of one Ranma Saotome had punched a glaring hole in this comfortable world view. His very existence, and the events that surrounded him proved that magic does exist. Even so it had appeared he was a rare exception to the rule. And after whatever had happened in China, things hinting at magic had slowly stopped making their way into Nerima. Thus making it even easier to disregard such world shattering concepts.

Yet here she was, being taken into custody again by a living space alien. Also in the same large room were several men and women in gaudy costumes giving statements or just chatting with officers. And one of them was the last person Nabiki had ever pegged for this type of thing: Ranma 'Knight Mare' Saotome. That the red head was talking with another teenage girl, this one with blue hair and a costume that left little to the imagination was alarming.

As was the fact that Ranma actually respected this unknown girl. They both moved like martial artists. Even Nabiki could tell that little fact._ Who is she?_ Nabiki wondered as she was processed. _And since when can Saotome turn into a cat?_ The questions kept piling up. And the only reason why Nabiki wasn't in a full panic was because she'd already had time to adjust to her world view being irreparably shattered. Spending time in an extraterrestrial holding cell tends to do that.

"That's the girl I told ya 'bout," The red haired Ranma mentioned to her companion as they approached.

"The yakuza wannabe?" The one with blue hair asked. When a nod was received Ice Lady blinked. "Why the hell do ya want _her_ released into our custody?"

Knight Mare smirked arrogantly before responding. "Cause she's really good at finding stuff out. Not so good at knowing when ta stop though. Might be able ta help find that missing ninja guy."

_**XxXxX**_

Rescue still hadn't occurred. And Jim was starting to doubt it would. Just surviving in this time period was rough. And on top of that he was still trying to hamper the terrorists. It was entirely possible he would die in this strange land. Either in battle against the Soldiers, or eaten by a dinosaur. Old age was a slim possibility. Exactly how long the base had been established, Jim didn't know. But the ruins he was currently staying at had been abandoned for some time.

His costume had long since been abandoned in favor of badly cured leather. His hair had grown to almost reach his waist. Jim kept it tied back and secured with another long badly cured strip of leather. As he slowly cooked a large lizard like animal over his campfire the time lost hero considered his options. They were few, but still there. That much he was sure of. But what to do, that was the big question.

Contact with the Society was now impossible. The only means had been destroyed after the last attempt. And Jim knew he wasn't very good at mechanics. That meant fixing the chrono-manipulator was out of the question. Nor could he use the one in the main Soldiers of America base a hundred and eighty miles to the west. It was too well guarded. Reaching the twenty first century via their base was out too. He didn't know how the transition had been made to begin with.

That left only one viable option in his estimation. And that option was tantamount to suicide. He had to shut down the base, and he had to do so soon. It was increasingly clear it was a training and manufacturing facility. Since the only way he could think of to shut the base down was destroying it's power source, it would also mean being stranded here for good. Assuming he survived the assault that is.

But he'd long known that he wouldn't die in bed. Very few costumed adventurers lived to see their golden years. And those who did, frequently did so as a cripple. Retirement wasn't in the cards for most of his breed. _If this is my last charge, so be it. It's better to die in defense of others then to live as a coward. I just wish I could see Mary's face one last time._ That night he slept fitfully. On the next morning he would act.

_**XxXxX**_

As Ranma approached the mansion she currently called home the young woman sighed in exhaustion. Not physical exhaustion by any means, but mental. The initial stroll had been to clear her mind after all. Dredging up the past had been unexpected. And dealing with Nabiki Tendo always left her feeling worn out. That woman caused nothing but problems for Ranma Saotome, yet also was a necessary evil at times.

But to actually want her around for any reason, it still boggled the mind. Especially in light of what Ranma had learned six months ago. More recent revelations too were consuming her thoughts. Enough so that she didn't notice the small form hiding near the mansion. One has to give the irredeemable Happosai some credit however. Even he was able to tell that now was not a good time for his customary grope of a greeting.

_The boy's aura changed,_ the aged pervert thought in wonder. _He moves with more skill too._ "Ranma my boy, spar with me."

The former Saotome blinked in confusion. She'd heard the voice of the dreaded pervert. Yet it hadn't been a cry of 'sweeto'. Nor was she being groped. That was... not normal. At least not in Ranma's life it wasn't. The demand to spar was also a divergence from what usually occurred. Normally the pig tailed martial artist would catch the pervert on one of his panty raids and attack. Or the old leech would provoke a full blown assault. Never demand an actual spar.

"No," she stated tiredly.

Happosai scowled, his wrinkly lips looking for all the world like a beak. "You decline a challenge, boy?"

Ranma sighed again. "Nope, jus not now. I'm tired an it's late."

With a mighty yawn her concentration failed. While it barely took any effort anymore to remain human, it still took minimal focus. And with her focus disrupted Ranma Masaki found herself once more morphing into an oversized cat. For once however she just plain didn't care. Happosai however instantly grew alarmed by the transformation. Even more so, he was worried about the most minor aspect: the cloths didn't disappear at any point, they turned into red fur without actually offering any glimpses of what had been underneath.

The oversized house cat hissed at him, then stalked into the mansion. Just before entering she pulled a wooden sign out of no where which read /"Ask tomorrow."/

_**XxXxX**_

Hers was a proud culture. According to it's oral traditions the village had stood for three thousand years. And in all that time no one had managed to make them submit. This lead her people to feel themselves far superior to all outsiders. Elder Kuh lon knew her people had flaws. But she too had believed in their intrinsic superiority. After all, even the greatest emperors of China had failed to conquer them.

That no attempts had been made this past century only served as proof that they were better then anyone else. And so old and archaic laws remained on the books, actively perused. With little to no outside news events of the century didn't reach the village's ears. Thus word of how dangerous the outside world had become never was delivered. All that changed seven years ago.

That was when a red haired girl and her panda had visited the village during the annual tournament. It was the start of a series of mistakes that now threatened her people. But more importantly, it threatened her great granddaughter. And there wasn't a single thing Kuh Lon could think to do about it. For that matter, she didn't know what could be done. Only one thing was absolutely certain. The outsider laws had to go.

For uncounted generations the outsider laws had served her village well. Or so everyone had thought. Now the elder wondered how many times the one sent after an outsider had ran afoul of laws and technology they couldn't comprehend. How close had they come to being destroyed without a chance to fight back? It was fortunate that this time only Xain Pu was caught in the crossfire.

_**XxXxX**_

Morning came, and with it came the sounds of a young man practicing the martial arts. He was observed by both a middle aged man named Sam Bricklbuster and an ancient master by the name of Happosai. That the recently revealed Masaki was skilled was evident to both. As well as the fact he was pushing his limits. The extent of those limits worried Happosai though. The 'boy' should have been preforming superhuman feats of strength and agility.

Instead, he was preforming on a level a normal practitioner could expect. The vast majority of martial artists never trained in chi. Nor did they master the more esoteric disciplines. Roof hopping and other things that were normal sights in Nerima were relegated to the movies and special effects by the vast majority of people. Even the most famous of practitioners thought the higher end of martial arts to be fiction.

But then again, those who were capable of such feats spent at least a decade of intense training usually to master their body to such degrees. It was an open secret. That such techniques existed was public knowledge, but no one really believed them to be real. It was true that superhuman feats of strength and agility were fairly common to see in America. But that was mostly due to super powered individuals rather then pure training.

That Ranma Masaki was one of those rare few who took martial arts to superhuman levels was something he had never been truly aware of. He'd long thought all serious martial artists could do what he could. After all, every major fight he'd gotten into had involved chi masters or other high powered techniques. Frequently as a teenager Ranma had found himself facing the most off the wall styles imaginable.

The weirder events had slowly come to a halt beginning with his nineteenth birthday. It was almost like he'd been under a curse that was losing steam. While the usual assortment of nuts and madmen still plagued the youth, things of a odder and more serious bent slowly ended. Which suited Ranma just fine. He had grown tired of rescuing the youngest Tendo sister on a monthly basis.

Even so, he should have been able to fight at a much higher level. Happosai watched with a bit of worry. This wasn't like when he'd stripped the boy of his strength. It was something entirely else. Something that the aged pervert didn't know how to reverse. There was definite skill in his movements. A sense of grace too. Yet Happosai could tell the boy lacked the raw power and agility from before. Perhaps the durability too.

/"Ranma my boy, what happened?"/

The kata had wound to it's conclusion, so the aforementioned man turned. /"Po, no, Genma did somethin stupid. Damn panda."/

The diminutive grandmaster was taken back a little. The man in front of him had never refused to acknowledge the Saotome elder's relation before. Then there were the worrying reports he'd seen since entering this country. Reports of a thinner and more muscular Genma Saotome wearing evil looking armor and causing mayhem in the Midwest kept cropping up as well. And since the reports indicated the man had new abilities, it was most worrying.

Sam was actually smiling for once as he asked in Japanese /"So, why did you practice in this form?"/

The pony tailed young man grimaced while considering the question. /"Havta stay in shape. Sides, ya practice when ya can barely walk."/

Happosai blinked at the response. After studying the blue haired man a moment, he realized there were signs of great skill. But he couldn't see any signs of using chi to enhance the man's abilities. _Interesting,_ Happosai thought. There was evidence of some sort of chi usage in the man's aura though. The nature was nearly impossible to tell, yet it was pure chi, not the emotion tainted kind Ranma and his rivals used.

/"So my boy, ready for that spar?"/

/"No,"/ Ranma replied just before it started to rain. /'Er, now I am."/

That the cloths worn had abruptly turned into a hot pink hello kitty belly tee and matching mini-skirt caused Happosai to pause. The now female Ranma's outdoor slippers had stayed the same, but otherwise the entire outfit had changed. At a glance Happosai knew Ranma was wearing a bra at least now. Where it came from, he didn't know or care. What was important though was claiming the silky darling quickly.

Only it wouldn't come off. What's more, Happosai found himself unable to siphon any chi from Ranma's female form this time. That alone was cause for concern to the gnome like man. It meant no chances to rejuvenate himself during this match. Or maybe there was. That man had become a smoking hot teenage girl with the rain. Experimentally Happosai dove for the new girl's chest., only to miss badly.

"Nope, heard about you already asshole. Try that again and I'll break your arm." Sam snarled.


	27. A duel of wills

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

Honor can be a dangerous thing. Too rigid of honor can chain a person to ideals not their own. It can be used to enslave another, provided they care about it to begin with. There is another thing honor can do, and it was one a woman named Nodoka Saotome was learning the hard way. It can destroy a family. Her son had left, abandoning everything that was honorable. Or so it would seem. The shock of her 'manly' son abandoning honor and duty managed to shake loose her convictions.

"What have I done?" She wondered for the first time.

For almost a quarter of a century she'd held no doubts. Then again the memory of that night had been suppressed too._ It had been her fault her little Ranma had died. At the time he'd kept crying. It had been driving the young woman crazy. While it was true that Nodoka had been married too young, it still didn't excuse her shaking the two month old baby like she had. Her husband had been on one of his frequent training trips, so hadn't known what happened._

_Maybe it had been grief. Maybe it was a form of insanity. But when the young Nodoka had seen a family who's baby looked so much like her own a plan had formed. It hadn't been elegant, nor honorable. Although her honor required a living son when her husband returned, it was dishonorable to take steal child. Such thoughts didn't even crossed her mind at the time. No, all that mattered was that another family was holding her son._

_In the dead of night the crimson haired beauty slipped into the offending home. In her hand was the Saotome honor blade, a katana said to have been used by her husband's ancestors to slay a demon. Her bloody work left two adults dead after stabbing through their hearts. Unthinking, she replaced the baby boy in the crib with one who looked nearly identical but was already a corpse._

She looked down upon the silk wrapped bundle. Nodoka should have been a skilled kendoist. Not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but skilled. And yet for the past twenty five years no matter how much she practiced Nodoka found herself clumsy with this ancient blade. The Saotome honor blade also appeared tarnished. A trait which also had lasted for twenty five years, regardless of how much it was polished.

Could the two be related? With any other weapon her skills were as normal. It was just with the honor blade that she could barely retain a grip. The more she thought about it, the more convinced Nodoka became. It was almost as if the honor blade reflected the tarnished honor of the Saotome clan. But that was silly, wasn't it?

_Perhaps it is time to let it go,_ Nodoka thought as she placed the honor blade within it's crystalline case. The case was said to have held the honor blade when her husband's ancestor first had received it from the gods. Perhaps the legend was true, but no one actually knew anymore. Just that each generation of Saotome had retained the box along with the sword. They were a matching set that were unique among samurai families.

_**XxXxX**_

The sounds of combat filled the early morning air. In the front lawn of the Freedom mansion two warriors were clashing in a battle for high stakes. It wasn't a conflict over right and wrong. Neither combatant was committing a crime. And yet to a martial artist the stakes were the highest possible. For if the young heroine called Knight Mare won, she would be considered a master of her art. And that was a battle Ranma Masaki refused to lose.

Or Ranko Masaki as she called herself when female these days. Seeing a lunging pipe strike coming her way, the pig-tailed martial artist brought her left forearm up to deflect the blow. Even as the pipe went wide she was pushing forward with the other fist. With her left forearm now held vertically in front of her chest, Ranko blocked a snap kick which she'd barely seen. Her retaliatory crescent kick was met with open hands and a tug, sending her past Happosai.

The two paused and stared at each other. For the last hour they had been going at it using just their physical skills. It was this fact alone that impressed the ancient pervert the most. In the past Ranma had relied heavily on any special maneuvers learned. Be it the chestnut speed training, a chi projectile powered by confidence, or other high powered maneuvers. This over reliance had been one reason Happosai had refused to acknowledge the boy's mastery.

Regardless of skill, relying on a handful of tricks to beat everyone was not the sign of a master. It was the sign of someone seeking shortcuts. But now the boy was using skill rather then tricks. Oh sure, the aged grandmaster was more skilled still. But it was by a rapidly shrinking margin. With each passing hour Ranma's skill was catching up. The boy truly was a prodigy, and definitely a worthy heir.

Another point in the boy's favor to Happosai was that he refused to use the more destructive of the two techniques Genma Saotome had devised. Or at least, the boy had not used it yet. And from what he'd heard since arriving in this place, Happosai could understand why the other 'sealed' technique was being used.

/"Care ta step things up?"/ Ranko asked with a smirk.

When the elder nodded she extended glowing chi claws from each finger. This caused the grandmaster to drop his jaw in shock. There was no madness in those eyes. Seeing the claws also called to mind how similar the fight's movements had been to when the boy was deep in the neko-ken. Which to his knowledge was impossible. To date no one had ever actually mastered the dreaded neko-ken.

At an unseen signal the two clashed once more. The exchange was as brief as it was brutal. When they separated once more Happosai's pipe was on the ground in five pieces, and he had several tears in his purple jumpsuit. Ranko on the other hand was sporting several new bruises for her efforts. To the one observer their movements had been too fast to clearly see. _I didn't know she's a speedster,_ Sam thought in amusement.

/"Ranma my boy, you do the Art proud."/

The pink clad girl glared at her self proclaimed 'master'. /"Name's Ranko when female. Ran-Ko, get it right."/

The next signal to charge once more would probably never be known. Suffice to say they again engaged in a brutal dance. The balance of power however had shifted. With each punch and kick Ranko found herself slowing. It had been a while since she'd pushed herself to this extreme. The bruises were piling up too. Even her accelerated healing wasn't able to keep pace anymore.

Ranko found herself impacting the mansion's outer wall face first. It hurt, a lot. From what she'd learned the mansion was capable of withstanding nearly any amount of force. Which didn't explain the hole still being repaired. Nor did it explain the slight human shaped indentation in the wall now._ Ow,_ she thought. And yet gravity was steadfastly refusing to lay claim on the injured girl.

Sam noted that the battle seemed to be over, finally. Unsure of the gnome's intentions, she transformed into her ice form. With arms crossed she placed himself between the gnomish man and Ranko. In her hands formed two nightsticks of ice. The icy heroine slipped into a defensive stance and eyed Happosai warily. The man turned teenage girl glared at Happosai angrily, as if daring him to continue assaulting the champion of Bast.

"Playtime's over old man," she growled.

Sam was surprised when the perverted old man actually backed down. She'd heard a lot about the man from her apprentice. From everything she knew, surrendering was not something the man known as Happosai did, ever. Then there was another burning question. Just where did the man get a new pipe from? He couldn't have hidden it in a pocket. The jumpsuit had no pockets.

_**XxXxX**_

_The past, time period unknown_

Jim Moor sighed as he placed his weapon within a crystal box. He'd fashioned the case using a pendent given to him by the Greek god of the forge himself. At the time he'd been told to only use the pendent when he knew he'd not return. That it would form a means to safely store his chosen weapon until someone worthy could claim it. Today he knew that day had come. On the case's lid was an inscription.

It read: _In noble hands justice is found, in wicked deeds thy goal denied, let he who takes up the hero's mantle ever wield my edge with honor._

"Now then, on to destiny. At least that base uses a clean form of fission for power. I'd hate to destroy the biosphere with this plan."

Idly he wondered if this was what actually had killed off the dinosaurs and triggered an ice age rather then the meteor scientists believed did the deed. After all, scientists didn't exactly know about the terrorist bases located in pre-history. Nor were they aware said base was powered by a fission reactor that a time displaced crime fighter was about to detonate. As Jim left he slid a hand crafted sword into it's crude leather sheathe, knowing full well the world would probably never know of his sacrifice.

**Author Notes:**

Huh, I think things are starting to come to a close for this installment of the Knight Mare's story. Already got some ideas for the next story in this line though. Might be another chapter or two here, I still got some loose threads to stitch into place.

As always, if you notice I spelled something wrong please let me know what and where. Grammar errors may never be fixed, but then again sometimes it is exactly how I wanted it to be. And please keep in mind that while my personal belief is that Ranma Saotome isn't even a 4th dan in any given style, I do agree he's skilled. Just not as skilled in canon as some people make him out to be. That doesn't stop him from being a super-martial artist though.

In palladium terms one can think of it as follows: Hand to Hand-Basic is 'I'm a talented self taught' or 'I studied self defense at the dojo in the mall'. They outclass someone with no training big time. Your typical karate student who trains for an hour three times a week might have this skill. Hand to Hand-Expert goes beyond this. This skill represents elite training such as army special forces. It's still not 'super', but outclasses your normal martial artist usually.

Hand to Hand-Martial Arts then is the cream of the crop when it comes to normal melee fighters. They are the best of the best, or so the general public usually thinks. Then there are those martial artists who push themselves beyond normal capabilities. They devote years to studying one specific school of martial arts before being awarded their first dan ranking. They put the art in martial artist. When these guys fight competitively they hold back their true skills.

This would be the specific styles in Ninjas & Superspies and Mystic China. They take martial arts to such a level that many have borderline supernatural abilities. Chi mastery, the dim mak, ability to sense hostile actions even when you can't see the person, the ability to vanish from plain sight, and more. Then finally you have the Physical Training category of 'hero'. Skills wise, they aren't inherently better or worse then someone trained in a specific style.

Physical training heroes such as Ranma either have formed a style unique to themselves or studied a style that is extremely exclusive to the point no one has ever heard of it. They obsessively push themselves to such extremes that they actually surpass normal human limits. They push themselves into the realms of meta-human by sheer determination and training. They are far stronger and tougher then a normal person, sometimes to the point where they have mid-range super strength.

While a student of a specific style may initially appear less skilled then one who studied a more general combat style (read they start with typically half as many attacks per melee round), they more then make up for this with versatility and exotic techniques. Where for example the elite special forces guy might be trained to strike quicker initially, the true master of taido will flow around the attacks. And frequently counter attack while defending at the same time.

The same taido master on the other hand might find themselves hard pressed by someone who falls under the Physical Training category. At the start of this story Ranma while age 25 had been deliberately mistrained by Genma to make him easier to control. He'd been barely taught by Genma personally, and barely learned the basics at any given dojo he'd studied at. Thus his actual skills were not those of a first dan. He'd NOT mastered the basics yet. He did make up for that with raw ability though, making him appear to have done so to anyone equally poorly trained.

And yes, I think the majority of martial artists Ranma faces in canon are poorly trained. They have styles that shouldn't even be effective. The only reason most are effective is cause the user manages to somehow tap into their chi/ki/whatever you want to call it to enhance their abilities. Seriously, martial arts ballroom dancing and martial arts tea ceremony? Even Herb and Saffron aren't strictly speaking more skilled then Ranma, just more powerful.

A normal human would have trouble fighting a demi-god no matter how skilled the human is. Even a super martial artist would have trouble doing so. It'd be possible, but challenging in the extreme. And in this story's world setting after the failed wedding the high powered martial arts battles slowly started to come to a halt. The only regular challenges for Ranma were the regular cast, most of which in canon rarely try to improve their skill between fights.

Think about it, when he first fights them seriously Ranma has trouble with Kuno, Ryoga, and Mousse individually. But over time got to the point where he could beat all three at once. This means that while Ranma was working on improving his skills, everyone else was pretty static in theirs. Thus with no real challenges, Ranma's skills over the years started to stagnate. Then he encounters Cold Snap, a 6th dan in his combat style and a super martial artist to boot in addition to being a meta-human. He could have been a grandmaster, yet hasn't actually taught anyone so doesn't qualify for 7th dan.

Emerald Avenger also would be a 6th dan, in taido in this case. And he too is a super martial artist. Although that had been more of a lucky blow victory over Ranma. Ranma is actually stronger and more durable then Emerald Avenger. In a long drawn out battle, Ranma would be at an advantage.

The three months of intensive training under Cold Snap hadn't been to teach Ranma leopard style kung fu. Instead it was to teach Ranma better battle tactics and when to use certain abilities. Ranma had to learn when to block or parry instead of dodge for example. That's not to say the pig tailed martial artist didn't incorporate some of the basics of pao pat mei into his personal variant of anything goes during those 3 months.

Er, enough with the exposition slash rant..


	28. Ending an Era

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warning:** There will be some OOC for some characters. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected.

He had called himself 'the streak' for years before finding himself stuck in the distant past. It wasn't because of his luck, Jim Moor made his own luck. Nor was it because of any discoloration of his hair. It had always been white. No, his chosen moniker was due to his gifts. The main one was the ability to run faster then most vehicles. At the age of sixteen he'd been clocked at just shy of two hundred and twenty miles per hour. Since then he'd only gotten faster.

But the ability to run at nearly the speed of sound did not help as much in a fight as one would expect. The improved reflexes came in handy. As did the accelerated perception. When traveling at such speeds you had to be able to see the world as you were much slower. This tended to make anyone not a speedster appear to be in slow motion. Sometimes if the speedster was fast enough the outside world appeared to freeze in time.

The Streak was not quite that fast. While at his top speed things moving at lesser velocities appeared to be almost at a standstill at times, he still could observe movement rather easily usually. There were rumors of speedsters so fast that they could casually walk across a city in the blink of an eye. Of a man who could actually run on smoke due to his raw speed making it semi-solid to the man.

He'd even heard of someone so fast he could pluck bullets out of the air as if they were stationary. Jim was not that person. Although it was handy being able to clearly see the projectiles and have plenty of time to avoid them. Sadly the terrorists he was facing were not armed with slug throwers. They were using laser weaponry. And light he had trouble dodging. Oh sure it was possible, but exceedingly difficult.

Case in point, the fact that several grazes and seared holes now could be seen on his bare chest. The tunic he'd fashioned months ago was ruined. In fact it had caught fire from the concentrated high intensity light. Behind the beleaguered man was a blast door leading to the base's power core. It felt like he'd been fighting for days. There seemed an endless supply of soldiers to throw at him.

It was only due to a bit of forethought that he didn't have to deal with any of the Soldiers of America combat robots. He'd already smashed the computer banks controlling them. Without that control, the still living brains of those poor souls used could reassert dominance over the undesired bodies. _Oh shit,_ he thought as someone got the bright idea to use a stinger missile. _Looks like I was right. No way I'm walking away from this one._

_**XxXxX**_

_The Present_

A woman stood before an empty lot. Her skin was a pale lavender in color. She wore a white backless gown of silk. A pair of brown moth like wings came from behind the woman. The lot had contained a warehouse not ten minutes ago. Exactly what had happened remained to be seen, but clues pointed towards the former warehouse as a base for the soldiers of america.

Beside her stood a teenage girl with fiery red hair. The disgustingly cute pink outfit had already become somewhat famous within the city. This girl was known as the knight mare, a recent addition to the meta-human law enforcement community. The youthful champion turned to the elder woman and scratched the back of her neck. With a slight chuckle Knight Mare expressed what was on her mind.

"So bug lady, what just happened?"

The lavender skinned woman sighed. "I'm called Moth, not 'bug lady'. And only the mother forest knows what happened. In all my years on this planet never have I witnessed such an event."

"Ya, it's like the building never got built no more," Knight Mare snorted.

Moth sighed once more at the youth's atrocious verbal habits. "Do try to speak properly. But what do you mean?"

Knight Mare thought about the situation for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Jus that, the ki flows are like no building was there. 'Fore it was dark an twisty. Lotta bad people there. Now it ain't."

The red head knew she sounded like an uneducated fool. Which was partly true, the girl hadn't really gotten much of an education. Ever since meeting that cat-like woman Knight Mare had found her command of the English language far in excess of her capability to actually speak it. Maybe with time that would change, but maybe not. It still didn't answer another burning question though.

"Ya keep calling em 'sodders of america' or somethin. Why fight the military?"

Moth shook her head before replying. "It's 'soldiers of america', and they aren't actually a part of any nation's military. The group are highly equipped terrorists. I have encountered them many times over the years."

_By the mother forest, I hate dealing with time travel._ The extraterrestrial had no way of knowing her thoughts were mirrored by the girl next to her. Nor did either notice the crowd of people starting to form. It wasn't often that the city's heroes just stood around staring at an empty lot. It was even less often that a warehouse spontaneously vanished as if it never existed. While a rare event, such things had been known to happen on occasion.

"I don't trust this," Knight Mare muttered. "I'll check fer tunnels. Gonna call in others?"

Moth thought for a moment before replying with "No, we should be able to handle this ourselves. Besides which, Ice Lady is still tracking down leads on your family."

_In all my years never have I seen one hurt so much yet hate so little._ Moth thought as her companion transformed into a large red furred feline. _She has the soul of a warrior and the heart of a shaman. If this larva represents this world's next generation of protectors then I can retire with an eased mind. An investigator she is not, but then neither is Sam. And Kevin makes Sam look like a trained investigator by comparison._

For the first time in years a genuine smile graced Moth's lips.

_**XxXxX**_

_Galaxy Police holding facility, sol system_

/"Great grandmother,"/ a cyan haired young woman started in mandarin. /"Why must I stay here?"/

'Here' was a cell with metal walls. While no bars could be seen, the door was blocked by humming energy field. On the other side of the barrier stood a woman who had been beyond old when Xain Pu was born. With time ancient bones had succumbed to gravity's pull, reducing her height to about three and a half feet. The hall the ancient woman stood in was filled with similar cells, but most were empty.

/"You must stay because of your actions, great granddaughter. Because of pride you endanger our village."/

/"But is law,"/ Xain Pu exclaimed loudly.

Elder Kuh Lon shook her head. After three months her granddaughter still refused to see reason. It boded ill for her heir taking up the elder's position on the council one day._ Will she ever learn to think things through?_ Xain Pu was still ranting about how she was in the right. Not that Kuh Lon was listening to it. No, she was trying to decide the best course of action. One thing was absolutely sure: her granddaughter was in deep trouble.

/"A law that should not have been used, child. And now I must find a way to save our people from your actions."/

The matriarch turned and walked away. Normally she hopped around on a gnarled cane taller then herself. It wasn't dignified, but it was effective. Today however the elder found herself in too somber of a mood for such games. Within the week she would be given transport back home. That she'd be making the trip alone brought still more grief to the heart of elder Kuh Lon. _The outsider laws have to change._

_**XxXxX**_

_Tokyo-Nerima ward_

Nobody had entered or left the Saotome home for nearly a week. While this in it's self wasn't unusual, there was a rank aroma emanating from the building. Perhaps it was the stench that caused someone to call the police. Perhaps it was the lack of activity. Or perhaps it was something else entirely. Whatever the cause, Officer Ikari had been sent to investigate. Naturally the rookie officer was sent due to no one else wanting to risk their necks.

It was well known among the police veterans that Nerima was a very dangerous place to be stationed. For years there had been demon attacks, the occasional princes from mystical kingdoms kidnapping martial artists, and random acts of extreme violence. It was for this reason that the local precinct did as little as they could get away with. The ward had so many unusual things happen over the years that several unique traffic laws had been passed.

Unusual traffic codes or not, the foul stench coming from the house almost made Ikari vomit. Even before he reached the door the officer thought someone or something must have died within the domicile. Upon knocking on the front door he found it open. The creaking of the hinges sounded ominous to his high strung nerves.

He noted that the door had been broken open. The deadbolt had torn through the frame and the latch ruined. Whoever had broken in had then taken the time to retract the deadbolt. When he found the body Ikari did lose his stomach's contents. If it hadn't been for the fact the room was also ransacked, he might have thought the woman on the floor had committed ritual suicide. Her belly had been sliced open with a knife and her head separated from the neck.

Running outside, he radioed in the discovery. It was fortunate he'd managed to leave the room before expelling his lunch.

**Author Notes:**

This is almost it. Probably going to do an epilogue, then Wild Horses will be finished. Yeah, I know I have several loose threads. But this story isn't self contained. It will in all likelihood spawn at least one sequel. Probably several in fact.


	29. Epilogue

"speech (English mainly)"

"_radio, feline language, or telepathic speech"_

_thoughts_

/"different language or panda sign"/

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I make no money from this, nor do I plan on trying to. This is purely for fun.

**Warnings:** There will be some OOC. It is an AU though, so that can almost be expected. Also, if you haven't read chapter 28 yet please do. This is finished surprisingly quickly.

I'm so tired.

I've felt tired for a very long time now. The curse turns out to be far worse then I'd originally thought. I mean, sure turning into a girl was bad. But it wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part is that my cursed form doesn't age. Ever. I remember hearing people talk about how great immortality would be. And all I want is for it to end. I'm old, entirely too old in fact. Ten thousand years, and still I can't die.

Oh sure, I could be killed I guess. But it's been a long time since anyone could actually pose a credible threat. At least I have company in this endless journey. I'm not sure if I could have handled this without Sam. He, she, I'm not entirely sure anymore. But Sam's been with me from nearly the beginning. First ans a sensei, then later as a partner. But who would have ever imagined we'd fall in love? I know I didn't.

I still remember the day we left earth. It was the day we buried both Cree and Amy. It had been raining. That fit my mood perfectly. Not a week previous I'd witnessed two friends getting murdered at the hands of a psychopath. A psychopath who happened to be my father. I'll probably never know what that murderous panda wanted. Even then I was starting to feel my age. Constant battles against evil tends to do that to you.

For forty years I stood alongside the other members of the Society. Or at least it's remnants. Mister E had retired about the time I joined. Streak sacrificed himself to stop an invasion, I think. Time travel still gives me a headache. Moth retired and returned home after my mom's funeral. I believe a new freedom society was formed by some guy calling himself a cosmo knight. Personally, I never met them. I heard they did good work though.

But after saying goodbye to two more friends I'd had enough. So I decided to follow E's example and leave. Maybe not forever, just for a while. At the time I didn't really understand how hard immortality is. And Sam decided to go with me. So we left. We found a nice quiet planet and settled in for some peace and relaxation. Ha, like that ever happens around me. But we didn't think of it. Oh well.

Man am I getting old. Actually spending time thinking about the past. Again. It's not like I can change anything. But there's nothing to do. The galaxy's been tamed for a while now. Crime is at an all time low, easily handled by the galactic police. Even raising the kids isn't an option. Sam hasn't been able to become a guy for a long time. And after her last one she can't have any more. It's not like our descendents ever visit either.

I'm tired, I'm old, and I just want to rest.


End file.
